


Daughters of Darkness - A Star Wars Story

by catradora_mp7



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018), Star Wars Legends: The Old Republic (Video Game)
Genre: Anger, Angst, Anti-Hero, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Enemies to Lovers, F/F, Flirting, Friends to Enemies, Friends to Lovers, Internal Conflict, Jedi, Love/Hate, Opposites Attract, Pain, Redemption, Romance, Sith Empire, Sith Holocron, Sith Training, catradora, spop
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-26
Updated: 2020-05-29
Packaged: 2021-02-26 01:13:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 24
Words: 55,480
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21974881
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/catradora_mp7/pseuds/catradora_mp7
Summary: 3681 BBY - The great Sith Emperor has rallied his forces to finally overthrow the Jedi order and bring peace to his great Empire. And in midst of his freshly trained Sith forces, the two young apprentices, Catra and Adora, burn to get into their first battle together. But their paths divide as their first mission ends in a catastrophe...[The blonde staggered back, her eyes filled with panic but the spark of hope remained, this one spark nothing had ever been able to diminish. She tried to grab her hand again but Catra was prepared for it. Extending her claws, she scratched the girl's hand, not deeply yet hard enough to make her stumble backward. A look of pain filled her eyes as the feline yelled, "Don't you get it? I said leave! Traitor, liar, monster! You used me! Get out of my sight before I let the droids escort you.""Catra please!-""LEAVE!"]
Relationships: Adora/Catra (She-Ra)
Comments: 35
Kudos: 129





	1. Training

**Author's Note:**

> This fiction was formerly known under the Work in Progress name "Rise of an Empire"

It was time for the apprentice to show what she was capable of, only minutes laid in between her biggest fight and opportunity yet. The small room around her was dark, the air smelled wet with a scent of copper hanging in it as if a thunderstorm was about to arise from out of nowhere. Somewhere from deep within the bowels of the arena, the regular splashing of water drops hitting the floor echoed off the walls. It was distant but Adora could hear the drops as if it was just next to her, her senses sharpened by the meditation. She could feel every single bug inside the moldy walls, all the soldiers patrolling the upper decks and a faint but familiar presence somewhere nearby. She knew there was going to be a great challenge ahead, so the girl concentrated and let her fear bottle up inside her guts, let her anger flow through every inch of her very being as her master had taught her to harness her inner strength.

"We will make the Sith proud again," Shadow Weaver had always said with her mask not being able to cover up her excitement, "With your help, we will annihilate the Jedi order."  
Adora had always felt the same sting in the pits of her stomach when her master talked about finally achieving revenge and taking the land the Jedi had unrighteously ripped out of the Sith's hands. The galaxy was theirs to take, theirs to lead with their strong empire, not the weaklings of the galactic republic. Years had gone by as the Emperor had remained hidden in the deep regions of space to set up his great plan. He had founded Dromund Kaas, the greatest capital in the galaxy, Adora's home, the place her new family would crush the republic from. Since her birth she had been raised to fulfill this one sole purpose, to fight alongside her brothers and sisters to reclaim what was theirs.

"Ready yourself," a voice called out from somewhere inside the apprentice's head, a call through the force that connected all living beings. With a small but accurate movement, Adora picked up the cold hilt of her weapon. Elegant curves of coils wrapped around a kyber crystal, connected to power conductors that were ready to shoot a beam of destructive bundled energy smoothed to her sweaty palm as she found a better grip on it. The engravings in the metal clutched in her fists reminded her of her parents, the people she had lost because of the republic. Never again would anyone make her suffer, it was her turn to make them suffer in her place. It was finally time to get revenge for not only the Sith but herself, slaughtering the Jedi as they had slaughtered her family. And this was the last challenge she had to face to finally live her dreams of vengeance.

Like a lit torch, her anger flared up once more and with a fluid motion her finger pressed a button located just underneath it. Red light flooded the room, the humming sound drowning her sensitive ears as the red lightsaber unfolded. Adora knew she had a few minutes left so she remembered to warm up by getting into a loose combat stance. This fight would not be an easy one, especially not against who she expected to meet in the arena.

"You've got this Adora, use your inner strength and you will prevail," she whispered and swung the sword at an invisible contestant. Quick parades followed aggressive strikes towards the imaginary threat, the whirring of the energy beam growing louder and louder as the speed of the strikes increased. Within seconds all there remained of the blade was a thin red whir that seemed to cover the young girl in a cobweb of surging protective energy.

"You looking at me, Jedi?" With one last strike, she held out her hand towards the moldy wall, channeling all of her anger until her eyesight went red. Dust rained from the ceiling as a gigantic crack appeared in the stone, slowly making its way above her head. Small chunks of concrete rained on Adora's blonde hair and the dust settled on her red jacket.

"Well that could have gone wrong," she mumbled to herself and brushed off the debris from her clothes and readjusted her hair poof everyone kept mocking her about. Now she was ready, ready to strike down every threat her master was about to throw at her in the arena. There was no stopping for the glowing sphere of hatred in her guts, no stopping for the heated blade of her lightsaber. With every slash, she would come closer to avenging her family and her anger fueled her strength as she tapped into the dark side of the force. Once again, the faintest noises grew almost unbearable, the faint pumping of hearts in the chests of the spectators was as loud as sledgehammers. Adora's fear was suddenly thrown into the mix and the Sith apprentice remembered one of her first lectures:

"Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate to total domination."

This was the path of the Sith and today, she would show how much of a part of the empire she was.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

There was a slight rumble that alerted her when the big door finally started to lift. Light, as well as a fresh breeze, replaced the creeping shadows and the stale air inside the room, making Adora gasp as she started to adapt to the new environment.

Huge crystal spires lined the way to an open space surrounded by small towers that looked like they would survive the next few hundred years without any human or other species' intervention. The emblem of the Sith Empire was brandished all over them, the red hexagon with its seemingly trapped beams of darkness was the pride of everyone in the Empire and especially in the order itself. Between the spires long streaks of ivy grew up the shining surface of the gems, potentially hiding unknown threats. Little bushes and trees threw their shadows on the lifeless rock ground underneath the apprentice's feet, making it almost impossible to spot any enemies. Almost.

Adora held her lightsaber in a defensive stance as she felt the presence of multiple troopers around her. It was as if the light around some of the green spots seemed to be sucked into their bowels, making the work of guessing easier. The girl had worked with these people all of her life, she knew how to sense they were nearby. It was hard to pinpoint their exact location but she knew there were at least seven of them. The air was tensed as the girl heard the distinctive click of an energy cell being loaded into a mag well. There was a little pause as if time had stopped around Adora, the leaves of ivy slowly rocking back and forth in unison with the slight breeze rustling through the empty yard upfront.

Then suddenly, without any louder sound that might have predicted it, blaster fire emerged from the green undergrowth. Hot bolts of red energy raced past her, scorching the plants wherever they hit. With the loud whirring of the Sith blade, Adora rushed into battle. Even though this training course was new, she had a basic idea of the terrain. The heat of one of the shots stung in her eyes as she deflected the bolt back to its owner, making him yell out in pain as the energy hit him square in the chest. The black armor of the trooper was tossed backward with the soldier still inside, being swatted against a nearby wall. Soon, another count of two soldiers followed his involuntary example and hit the wall with a loud crack. But right next to the fallen comrades, another trooper exchanged fire with her opponent, not willing to give up the fight. Swinging her lightsaber towards the incoming blaster fire from all sides, Adora broke into a run. Faster and faster her blade spun all around her body, the immense kinetic force of the shots being tossed aside like children's toys.

She could sense the fear in her old comrade as the Sith jumped over a fallen tree in her way and kicked the soldier in the helmet, the wearer letting out a squeal of pain as her nose broke underneath it without any apparent facial features. The female trooper would have risen to fire once more, hadn't Adora spun around to cut into the soldier's shins, earning a louder cry of pain immediately as the hot saber blade smoldered the soft flesh underneath. Now that she was down for good, the apprentice felt triumph rising in her throat. A grim smile parted her lips while the battle around her continued.

Feeling triumphant was her first fault. Being overconfident was her second. And her third and final fault was not to immediately move on to the fight. Just a few moments passed as Adora stood there, lightsaber glowing red in her hand, staring down at her prey. It was enough time for one of the blaster bolts to strafe her shoulder. Burning pain surged through her body as she held her shoulder, letting her guard down only for another shot to hit her in the knee, forcing the young woman to stagger. Although the amount of energy in the bolts had been reduced for the training, the hit was still as if she had been stabbed with a Vibro blade. With one weak arm Adora deflected the next shot to her side, spraying some of the pulverized stone onto her face.

The pain became unbearable, stinging in her eyes, burning in her shoulder and leg, exhaustion trying to force its way past her focused mind. She closed her eyes, fists clenched and teeth biting against each other as a wave of even greater rage made the youngling rise to her feet. Her eyesight went red as she pulled her fists in front of her chest until she suddenly jerked them outwards, a cry of pure hatred leaving her throat.

"I... have... had... enough!"

Small stone particles around her started floating as the force surrounded her and all of her foes were bent to her will, grabbing the last three soldiers across the room. Their shocked yells pitched in screams as their floating bodies were pulled towards the Sith apprentice with high speeds. After that, it was just a series of three quick slashes in midair to end the fight. With the clattering of armor against the stone floor, the limp bodies of the troopers fell, small twitches still running down their now unmovable muscles.

"Fuck you," Adora said and spat down on one of her victims before she continued her way towards the yard in the center of the arena.

Intuitively she knew this was her goal. The sight of the still abandoned towers standing around made her nervous. Even though the soldiers were out of the game, something wasn't right. The Sith apprentice looked around, observing the static shadows, waiting for something to jump out of them to try and strike her down. But nothing happened. Every step she took was louder than she expected, her sudden deep tap into the dark side was still sharpening her senses to a high degree. The floor beneath her feet seemed to grow colder as her wandering eyes met the small shrine standing in the middle of the open space. Red light, way colder than her saber's one, seemed to flow down the steps of the stone construct as if it was smoke coming out of the broken catalytic converter of a racer engine.

Her heart seemed to follow an irresistible pull towards the small triangular object residing amid the red fog. Something told her this was what she needed to become a proper Sith, to unravel the deepest natures of the force to avenge what had been taken from her by the republic. As if attached to an invisible rope she stepped forward, mesmerized by the glowing beauty of the pyramid.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Adora was so mesmerized in fact that she forgot the feeling of uneasiness she had been experiencing since she had set foot on the square. Just outside her field of view, one of the seemingly static shadows began to move, sharp claws silently scraped the ground as the unseen foe started their secret approach. Jumping from tower to tower the enemy closed their distance with Adora. The latter was so awed by the sight in front of her that she noticed the shadow just a bit too late. A low growl sounded before the sharp sound of two lightsabers unleashing their power in unison ripped the air apart.

Adora ripped her blade up in the last second when two beams of red rushed down at her, striking her saber and almost pushing her out of balance. With a short stagger, the girl regained her stance and threw her attacker a look full of anger until her eyes widened as a voice said,

"Hey, Adora..."


	2. Battle

_**"Hey Adora..."** _

The feline grinned, exposing her two little fangs that glistened in the artificial light of the arena. Her heterochromatic eyes remained focused on only Adora; the instinct of hunting prey shrouded behind them. Blue and yellow, two such different colors united in just one person's orbs, it was something unique to her.

"Catra! I should have known they'd send you," Adora growled, spinning her lightsaber in a threatening way, the humming becoming louder as she did.   
Without wiping off the smirk, Catra curled her tail and moved a step forward, testing her opponent with a few low set strikes. She parried them with ease, knowing the fellow Sith apprentice was playing around without yet using any of her strength. She could feel that the tan-skinned feline was fully recovered, that she hadn't even fought anyone yet. Adora, however, was weaker, exhausted and mildly wounded. This would be an unfair battle.

Catra started circling her enemy with light steps, looking for a weak point in her defense, "Well, of course, they would, the others wouldn't be much of a challenge for you."  
"I don't know if I should feel honored or if I should be pissed. It's low to send someone as close to me as you into a fight," the other girl remarked. She took a step backward, trying to maintain her defensive pose. Normally she would use the knowledge she had about forms of lightsaber combat to strike with extreme aggression but something held her back.

Adora's opponent giggled evilly, "Aw, you know nothing's too low for me." Even though it was a tense situation, Adora felt the urge to smile. Before she could do that, Catra lashed out in a series of furious strikes. The red beams of their weapons connected with the sound of thunder, both of them trying to overpower their enemy. It was hard for the young girl to maintain an intact defense as the feline pushed onward, her two blades disappearing in streaks of red light that occasionally stopped as she reconsidered an attack only to slash at Adora from a different angle immediately afterward.

"I see you have been training," she mocked Catra while blocking a strike of both of her opponent's lightsabers at once. Sparks rained down the touching beams of energy, slightly singing their skins as they stood only centimeters away from each other.

"Everything for you," Catra answered with a smirk. Then there was a streak of brown blocking Adora's view as the cat woman jumped six feet into the air, using the force to enhance her strength. She landed right behind Adora, both of her weapons glowing with red hot energy. The blonde turned around to be greeted with two low attacks that were supposed to hit her knees, causing her to jump backward. She tried to concentrate, tried to regain the smoldering rage she had felt while fighting the troopers but there was nothing. It was clear that Shadow Weaver had known this would happen, that was why she had chosen Catra for this fight: To make it challenging. Adora felt no hatred towards her, they had been growing up with each other after all. Best friends forever and... sometimes even more than that. How could she defeat someone like her without the necessary pain...?

Fortunately, or unfortunately, something Adora would question for a long time, Catra took a step back, simultaneously closing her sabers again. The look in her eyes made the young girl shudder.   
"I love these fights way too much to stop but just the two of us? That's getting a little boring, isn't it? Why don't we spice this up a little?" the small form of Catra said before slowly retreating into one of the shadows. She raised her right hand, holding both index finger and thumb close to each other before she snapped. The sound was enhanced by whatever trick she had learned but Adora knew it couldn't mean anything good. And she was right. With the creaking of metal sliding on metal, the towers finally revealed their purpose. Dark silhouettes emerged from their inners, their shining armor reflecting the light.

"Oh, are you fu-" Adora bellowed before the imperial troopers opened fire.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The blaster bolts ripped holes into the soft stone, smaller ones but there was something odd about them. Hot bubbles formed where the energy beams hit the floor, only leaving slight bruises in the material when they did.

Adora deflected one of the shots towards the ground, shooting a glare back to the still laughing Catra, "Sharp ammunition? Really?!"   
The feline smiled, "Oh? So you think that's challenging?" There was a little spark of betrayal in the back of her head when the blonde Sith continued to defend herself against the enemies. Shot after shot bolted towards her, every strike of her lightsaber hitting them with high precision. She knew that it wouldn't be long until her body started to overheat, to grow weaker and take her concentration with it. Soon there would be no way Adora could stay safe in the open. So, she chose the obvious choice of retreating into cover.

Using the force to give her a lift, the apprentice jumped into the shadow of one of the crystal columns, trying to escape the roaring thunderstorm of concentrated energy singing her flesh. Powerlessness and fear tried to overwhelm Adora, this situation was hopeless. She couldn't risk stepping back into the yard to retrieve the mysterious glowing pyramid from its middle. Either Catra would use her chance to strike or one of the shots would strike her down.

_"Use your fear, concentrate. Fear leads to anger. You are stronger than this. Show me what you're capable of and I promise you, you will be there with us, leading the first strike against the galactic republic. Now fight, make me proud, my apprentice."_

Shadow Weaver's voice was nothing more than a whisper but it gave the girl a sudden boost of confidence. The remainder of what she was trying to reach was more than enough of a motivation for her to close her eyes and concentrate, once more bottling up the fear, hatred and all the negative feelings she was being exposed to. She took one final deep breath before stepping back into the light. Her lightsaber reignited in a rain of sparks as thousands of volts were bundled by the legendary kyber crystal inside the weapon.

"You want to end my life? Then come and get me!" she yelled, using her newfound strength to force her hurting knee to bend and run towards the nearest tower. The incoming fire intensified as one of the gunners inside used his comrade's light machine gun to push back Adora but there was no way he could try and stop the raging apprentice. For Adora, there was no try to win either. There was do or do not, prevail or go down in a last act of glory. Her weapon moved in low but powerful arcs, shooting the bolts back at their owner. The combination of luck, skill and pure rage finally got rewarded as one of the stray shots hit the gunner in the guts, leaving him to tumble down the tower's rim. With a loud thud, his body hit the floor.

Using some of her bundled strength Adora catapulted herself onto the next tower, taking down three of the dark troopers inside in the resulting skirmish. When she was finished with them, she picked up one of their rifles. She had trained with them for an extended period but the plump weapon had never suited her needs. However, now it was time to put those skills in action. Hiding her saber, she raised the metal gun against her shoulder, squeezing one eye shut as she looked through the scope. The blue visor was confusing at first but it took Adora only seconds to realize the blinking lights on the inside, showing her distance, the charge of the energy cell, and a red dot in the middle to aim with.

"C'mon you bastards," she whispered as she aimed for the troopers in the next defended post. The first shot was a complete miss, sailing past the heads of the soldiers. The second one hit the metal frame of the building, making it blacken as the steel began to boil. The third shot finally hit something, even though it wasn't a trooper. The bolt sailed through one of the men's legs and hit one of the small resupply stations they had brought with them, igniting the highly explosive load and sending them to tumble to their death as they tried to avoid the flames.

Adora giggled nervously as she saw the tower's structure break loose, making it tilt in a dangerous angle, "Not what I wanted to hit but it worked." Only one real opponent remained, the creaking of her sharp claws echoing off the arena walls. The Sith apprentice looked down the steep side of the tower she was on, trying to see where Catra was running to. There was no sign of her but the silent rattling of nails hitting the floor now and then. She began to grow nervous, where was that damn feline?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Looking for someone?" a voice whispered only centimeters away from Adora's ear, making a shudder run along her spine. In one fluid motion, she ignited her weapon, swinging it at the voice in a try to win the fight before it had begun. Catra's natural reflexes didn't need the force to enhance them when she simply stepped back, the dirty grin on her face still not leaving since they had started to clash.

She continued to tease, "Wow, is that how you greet a friend?"   
"Not a friend, but a foe," Adora answered before lunging at her adversary with fierce determination. Seeing as Catra's eyes widened at the unexpected attack, her plan to take her by surprise had worked just a little. Her red blade was weakly deflected by the other girl's two ones, making it strike the ground and burn through a few layers of metal before she regained her balance. "So, you're finally back in form to fight?" the brunette asked, "I have been waiting for this for a long time Adora."

She knew the tower was a bad place to fight, she needed more space. A quick plan formed in her head and this time, it was her turn to smirk. "Oh yeah? Well, me too and look, I have a little present for you," the blonde answered and raised her hand. A sudden wave of energy swiped her opponent off the tower's platform, making her shriek as the ground raced towards the feline. She had the reflexes of a jaguar, landing on her feet and growling towards Adora as she jumped down to the concrete, slowing her departure with the force around her. The midichlorians in her blood felt like they made it boil as Adora regained her balance and started to advance towards her old friend.

Another growl emerged from both of their throats as they started to slash at each other with rapid speed, their blades clasping together with the sound of lightning, the whirring being a noise-drowning hum as if a whole fleet of dragonflies had decided to move their colony. Deflecting one of the furious strikes, Catra spun around, slashing and hacking with the gained momentum, making Adora slowly retreat as she tried to maintain an active defense.

"Sometimes, the offense was the best defense," Shadow Weaver had once said. However, for an attack, a real attack, she would need something to fuel her, to drive her forward. Rage was no option, neither was hatred nor pain. Catra had been there since Adora could remember, always by her side, always ready for a new adventure. It was hard enough to fight her in the first place, both of them knowing each other's strategies and thinking made it challenging to get the upper hand on each other. Was there anything else she could use...? Parrying one of her attacks, the blonde quickly countered with a wide slash, pressing her friend into making a step backward.

There was this small pull in her guts when she looked at Catra, standing there with all of her confidence, the red light of her sabers only making the picture more perfect than it already was. This feeling, what was it? Frustration? Annoyance? No, it was... passion. And passion was a weapon most of the Sith were unable to control. Adora had heard stories of long-lost masters who had used their love and passion to win each of their fights until they started to grow hungry, joining the light side in its path of destruction in the galaxy in the end.

Right now, there was no choice to make. This was Adora's last hope. And she took it, embracing the feeling and receiving a certain kind of calmness, her face smoothing to a mask of peace and replacing the grim mask. Catra raised her eyebrow, noticing the sudden change in her best friend's behavior. She didn't mind, stepping forward, one foot at a time, slowly advancing towards the feline. Each of her strikes was slower now, resting in their place for only the split of a second longer. And with each step, she began pushing Catra back. The sound of their colliding blades grew louder as the power behind the strikes intensified with Adora using her strength. Her opponent's eyes widened as she started to feel herself weakening, the aura of her opposite overpowering hers.

And then, with one last powerful blow towards the lower part of Catra's sabers, Adora disarmed her. The two blades remained open as the flew away, only closing when they had almost reached the ground where their metal clattered when it hit the cold stone. Her blade was at the feline's throat, whose eyes were wide open with fear and defeat in them.

"How did you... How...?" she stuttered, slowly crawling back to escape the lingering heat of the saber's tip. Adora blinked, quickly holstering her weapon.   
"Wha... I don't..." she replied, unable to keep up her voice. Puzzled she extended her hand to help her beaten friend up, her accepting the invitation and heaving herself up to her feet.   
"We'll talk about this later," she whispered as a big hidden door started opening towards the yard, two figures slowly starting to emerge from the darkness within.

_"Well done, my apprentice."_


	3. Bonds

_"Well done my apprentice."_

Shadow Weaver's form emerged from the darkness of the door, black coils of smoke wrapping around her feet. Her long red dress sliding on the ground made it look like she was floating instead of walking as she approached the two exhausted Sith trainees.

Next to her, the much taller figure of a real pure-blooded Sith lead the way, his red skin shining viciously in the cold light of the arena. Adora had seen him already, there was no one on this mission who hadn't. The black robes slid past the concrete with the sound of thousands of snakes making their way towards them as they bent their knee and fell to the ground in a gesture of respect.

"Rise apprentices," the Sith Lord said, his gleaming red orbs piercing through Adora and Catra. Both of them rose, their hearts beating as if they were going to jump out of their chests.   
"Lord Vindican, what do we owe the honor of your visit to?" Catra asked, her tail flicking from one side to the other in her anxiety. He smirked in amusement as he felt her uneasiness just as much as Adora's before replying, "I've come to inspect the last preparations before the battle. Looks like my demands have been met with success." As he said this, his eyes dwelled upon the blonde in front of him.

Catra laughed quietly, "Have you ever doubted us?" Before the feline could add anything, however, Shadow Weaver stepped- or rather floated- forward, her aura darkening the room.   
"Are you pleased with their performance my lord?", she asked, the hidden eyes behind the mask glaring towards Catra as she spoke.

"I most certainly am," the dark lord nodded towards Adora, "Especially with this one. The force is strong with her." Lord Vindican extended his hand towards the small shrine behind the two girls, the sound of air parting responded his move. The red pyramidal object rushed into his hand. Catra flinched when the thing flew by, the fast movement irritating her sharpened senses. The Sith lord examined the mysterious pyramid, letting his eyes wander across the sharp edges of steel and glass being combined into one being.

"A Sith Holocron." He turned it towards Adora who's eyes started gleaming in the light of the Holocron, once more mesmerized by its strange beauty. She could still feel the strange pull towards it, the feeling of knowing this contained something she needed. What it was, she didn't know. Taking a step forward she asked, "What's inside it, my lord?" The Sith smiled, his dark red skin wrinkled over his muscles trying to express pride.

"That, young apprentice, is something you will have to find out yourself. The force has helped you form a somewhat adequate fighting technique when you two clashed, it will have to help you unravel this secret on your own," he explained, "Until then I would like you to study something new." Vindican turned to Shadow Weaver, his dark robes following his movement.  
"This girl has shown great potential for Djem So, train her this form instead of Ataru. As for your other apprentice," the Sith looked down at Catra with a smile, "She'll be ready soon enough, her acrobatic skills are admirable. You have done an excellent job training them, Shadow Weaver, I wished all of our trainees would show such... _dedication."_

The dark woman bowed slightly as the lord turned around to leave the arena, his steps echoing off the stone walls until he was out of earshot. Then, Shadow Weaver chose to speak. Her eyes glared at Catra from behind the red mask. The air sparkled with electricity as she said, "Insolent child, it is your luck Lord Vindican was in good mood and didn't strike you down at once! Dare to open your cheeky trap in his presence one more time and I will dispose of you myself, did I make myself clear?"

Catra's ears twitched with uneasiness as the shadows around the three seemed to grow denser and move towards Shadow Weaver's location. Her eyes sped in between her master and the invisible threat around her, "I'm sorry master, it won't happen again." Without having noticed, Adora had moved in front of her best friend, her right hand already resting on her lightsaber. Her master froze, looking at her apprentice with great care.

"Adora, don't let her lash out like this. You have to keep her under control, do you understand me?" The dark woman's hand rested on the young Sith apprentice's cheek, the soft cloth caressing her warm cheek. Then without any more word, she turned towards the door and left the two girls standing alone inside the cold and darkening training dome.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Goddamn Shadow Weaver and her dumb rules," Catra grumbled as they walked down the long corridors of the Star Destroyer. Long silver steel-plated the bowels of the ship, red carpets with the symbol of the Sith empire stitched onto them laid on the floor, dampening their footsteps as they made their way to the sleeping quarters.

"Aw come on Catra, don't be mad about it. You know she's just like that all the time," Adora replied, bumping her shoulder into Catra's, making her yelp in excited surprise as she lost her balance. She grinned, exposing her little fangs, "Mad? Me? Never! I bet you are going to be mad when I win the race back to our rooms!" Now it was Adora's turn to smile, "Oh, so you wanna lose twice in an hour?"

Their race was accompanied by laughter as they dodged troopers and maintenance staff in the tight hallways, sometimes missing them only by centimeters. When they arrived at their quarters, they were sweaty and exhausted, not only from the running and the training but mostly from the muscles of their bellies being constantly tensed. Catra managed a slight wheeze, "I think I won!" Her blonde friend pushed her out of the doorway, quickly dodging one of the feline's weak punches to hinder her from getting into the small room. She failed, her hand softly hitting the frame before Adora slipped into the dimly lit chamber.

Two mattresses lined the spartan interior, one slightly messed up and the other still freshly made. Adora threw herself onto the messy bed, exhaling loudly as the warm blankets enveloped her body, making the damp coldness of the arena disappear.   
"Nope, I won," she whispered and grinned with her eyes closed. She felt the blankets move as Catra stole her way onto the mattress too, her warmth settling on the blonde's side.   
"Asshole," she giggled before stealing one of the blankets, evoking a little shriek from Adora.

Wrestling for the stolen cloth, the two didn't notice how the ship around them turned quiet, the engines powering down and most of the staff going to bed as to prepare for the incoming battle. Only when Catra managed to get the upper hand and stand up with the coat in her claws, they noticed the eerie atmosphere. "Shh, don't you hear that Adora?" the girl asked, her ears twitching at the sudden lack of sound.

"I don't hear anything...?"   
"Exactly, come on, let's check it out!" The feline jumped to her feet, both of her differently colored eyes gleaming with lust for adventure. Adora laughed out with joy in her voice, "Don't you think it has some kind of reason why everyone went silent all of a sudden? I don't think Shadow Weaver would approve."

Catra flinched slightly, her eyes contracting as the name fell. However, her change in behavior was so short not even Adora was able to notice it. Catra was deeply distressed by her master but she knew not to show it too much. They had a long and complicated relationship; the dark woman had never been supposed to take care of the little feline orphan but this wasn't the right time to think about it. She grinned, brushing off her unease, "First of all, if there's a reason for silence we just _have_ to investigate and second, have you ever seen a time I listened to Shadow Weaver?" Adora responded with a raise of the corner of her mouth too, "Well, you've got a fair point there."

Catra giggled, using her flexible tail to brush along the blonde's jawline and give her a slight slap on the cheek, "Let's go then. Come on, you look stupid lying down there." With a loud groan, the blonde lifted herself from the sheets, quickly grabbing the dark red jacket from the grey ground. She sighed and gave the feline an amused look, "I knew it would end this way."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They sneaked along the interior of the ship, having to dodge some of the guard droids now and then. Giggling like little children again, they halted in front of a blast door with a big sign on it. The heat from its inside was calming and comfortable but Catra squirmed as she read out aloud, "Engine Room, enter on your own risk." Adora took her shoulders and gently pushed her towards the door. Her friend didn't seem to be in the mood to enter, the hair on her tail sticking up to every side.

"No, Adora! I hate that room, it's so noisy and ugly!" she hissed as she wriggled herself free from the blonde's grip. She giggled and let go of her friend's shoulders, "Aw come on, no fun?"   
With a few quick steps, Catra put some distance in between herself and the blast doors, a little growl escaping her lips.

"Not in that room. Don't we have somewhere different to go...?" she asked, her tail nervously flicking from one side to the other. The girl opposite smirked as she remembered one of her favorite little spots, one that her friend would definitely like. Grabbing the feline's hand, she said, "Well there is one place but you'll have to be quiet." A spark of adventure re-lightened in Catra's eyes as she did so, the corners of her mouth turned upwards.   
"What are we waiting for then?"

Adora nodded, put up one of her fingers against her lips and then pulled the feline along to a small hatch not far away from the engine room. Catra shivered as the cold of the vents touched the bare skin of her arms before she followed the blonde. The small set of ladders inside was even colder than the air around them but they didn't care, their excitement building up a little bubble of protective warmth around them. Every step was followed by the low creak of metal as they ascended; the cold slowly intensified.

Shivering, Adora reached the top of the ladder, lifting the heavy hatch with a loud groan. The space above her was massive, darkness enveloped the only dimly lit deck. Catra followed her to the top, her eyes widened as she saw the stars above her twinkle with their warm light. Still shivering she turned around to be greeted by a warm coat held by her friend. The feline snuggled herself into it, leaving more than enough place for Adora as she sat down on the metal exterior of the star destroyer.

"How did you find this Adora?" she said, her both blue and yellow eyes dwelling on the twinkling lights above her. The blonde cuddled herself closer to her friends, enjoying the warmth of her body, "You like it?"

With a small punch to the blonde's shoulder, Catra replied, "Of course I do! Maybe a bit cold out here but you can't have all comfort, right?" "Yeah, the shield generators don't hold up against the cold of space but I managed to sneak something up to help it with." The blonde pulled out a little canteen from her belt, giving it to the feline next to her. The bittersweet smell of hot chocolate flooded her nose as she opened the lid.

"Oh, hell yeah," she said after gulping down a sip of warm sweetness, then she passed the liquid on to Adora who followed her example. "This is my little alone-time place, happy to share it with you anytime though," the girl explained, extending her legs into a more comfortable position. Catra giggled, "You sure it's not considered private space intrusion?" "Oh, what do _you_ know about private space, you jump on me the second you get a chance! Now, gimme another sip."

The feline grinned, slowly pulling away from the canteen, "Why don't you get it yourself?" Adora pouted and looked away, trying to form a quick move. Her plan was revealed as she pounced at her friend, quickly grabbing the canteen as the feline was confused why she was lying beneath the blonde's arms. Their breaths were short and quick, they could feel the warmth of the air caressing their skin as the heat rose to their faces. Adora quickly rolled off of her partner in crime, her heart beating in a fury. Trying to ignore the lump that had formed in her stomach she drank another bit of hot chocolate, keeping a calm silence before turning to Catra and saying, "What do you think will happen tomorrow?"

"We'll win, of course, no doubt the republic will be outnumbered when we arrive," the feline responded, brushing back her hair in an attempt to restrain the mane on her head. However, that wasn't what Adora had meant. "No, I mean... What happens if we get separated...? If one of us gets captured or... killed?"

Catra wiggled around in anxiety, letting the coat slip to her bare shoulders as she turned to Adora, "We don't have to worry about that as long as we stick together. We're stronger in a pair, don't think about things like that as long as it helps you connect to the dark side. We look out for each other and soon we will be the ones calling the shots." The blonde nodded, giving Catra a timid smirk in response, "You're right, I'm just overreacting."

Then, Adora leaned back onto Catra, pulling the blanket up to cover them once more and closed her eyes. The exhaustion took over both of them, slowing their breaths until the two girls finally slipped into the sweet scenery of sleep...


	4. Final Preparations

They awoke to the sound of alarms blaring into their ears. The ship underneath them seemed to jerk forward, leaving the two girls to tumble towards the small maintenance hatch they had used to climb the ship's outer hull. Catra heaved the heavy metal door upwards, revealing the darkness covering the ladder underneath. With quick but secure moves the two entered the destroyer, shutting the hatch over their heads with a loud clunk.

"It's the attack, isn't it?" the feline asked, throwing a glance upwards to the climbing silhouette of her best friend. "Yeah, and we are not where we should be. Shadow Weaver is going to kill us if she finds out," she said, quickly grabbing the next bar of the ladder beneath.   
Catra snorted, "Well quite literally in my case I bet. Got any plans on how we-" She stopped with her mouth open as the shadow above her disappeared. Adora was gone, only the slight vibration of the metal underneath her sensitive fingers told her that she had been there seconds before.

"Adora? Adora!" she hissed and climbed upwards again. Just seconds later something grabbed her from behind, evoking a shriek of horror from the feline as she was pulled into a small hidden space. Behind her, the blonde girl giggled as Catra turned around with her mouth contorted into a mask of fear and aggression before she understood what had happened.

Retracting her small claws again she punched Adora in the shoulder, "You asshole!" Her friend smirked, "I know, don't mention it. Now let's go, this air vent should lead us right to the landing bay." She turned around to lead the way with Catra still smiling and shaking her head at the unforeseen attack.

On and on they went, past old tattered parts of cloth, both of them were wondered how they'd gotten up here, large fans buzzing in the circulating air and the cold wire intestines of the star destroyer. Casually daring to take a look down, Catra spotted some of her brothers and sisters in arms preparing for the incoming fight, their dark armors glistening in the cold light. Although they had to stop from time to time to avoid detection, they arrived at the hatch soon after having entered the air ducts. Adora lifted it a slight bit to see if anyone could see their descend but they were lucky - or the force had given them a little push towards the right way.

"Follow me and stay down," the blonde said, putting her hand on Catra's shoulder one more time to give her words a deeper impact. The feline grinned as she nodded, keeping her mouth shut as to let no sound out of it. When the hatch lifted, the sound of metal scraping on metal appeared to be louder than it was, their hearts started beating to hide their fear. With one last nod, the blonde let her feet dangle down the ledge and jumped onto the steel deck beneath.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Hey, Catra, you can come down, it's clear!" Adora hissed and waved at her friend. The feline above gave her a small smile before jumping down next to her. Catra's feet landed on the metal without the slightest sound, her tail wagging to keep the girl's balance intact. In front of them, the endless widths of space lazily drifted along a blue barrier of energy shielding them from the cold death lingering behind the tricky beauty of the universe. To their right, a massive construct of metal stored the empty black shells of multiple imperial fighters ready to conquer the galaxy.

Catra patted Adora on the back, "What now? Don't you think we'll need all of the training gear for airborne fighting?" The blonde opened her mouth but before she could say anything, another voice, slightly deeper than hers concluded, "I don't think that'll be necessary."

They bolted around, hands on their lightsabers. Behind them, the silhouette of a girl in dark red and black armor stood leaned against a wall. Adora's hand twitched before a relieved smile parted her lips, "Lonnie, thank god!" Next to her, Catra still stared at the newcomer with unchanged hostility. She didn't seem to care at all.

"Good thing I caught you here, Shadow Weaver is looking for you already. Here, have your armor plating, you won't need any training gear anymore. This fight is gonna be real combat, no baby toys allowed," Lonnie explained and threw a small duffel-bag to their feet. The metal alloy inside clattered as it hit the floor and when Adora rummaged through it before distributing the insides between herself and Catra. With a few quick pulls at the strands holding the armor together, the two stood up, the cold steel weighing them down only slightly, "Thanks Lonnie, we owe you." The trooper just smirked in response and turned towards the docking bay, leaving the two girls fondling around their armor to make it fit better.

"God, I hate this stu-" the feline was about to say when the backside of the chest plate started squeezing the upper part of her tail in a very uncomfortable manner. Before she could end her sentence however, the voice of their master bellowed over the concert of sirens, "Adora?! Catra?! Where have you been?" The darkness surrounding the Sith seemed to be inkier than normal, the shadows danced around her as she slithered towards her apprentices.

"Sorry Shadow Weaver, we took a slight detour to avoid all the troopers storming down the main hallways," Adora replied quickly, her hands sweating as her mentor looked first into her and then Catra's eyes, hate burned in the last glare. "Aha, I see. We will talk about this later; the mission goes first. Are you ready to crush the republic once and forever?" The blonde nodded stiffly, trying to suppress the conflicting emotions building up in her throat; Fear, excitement, worry, anger. A glance towards Catra told her that she was feeling just the same, her tail trying to flee from the painful restraints of the armor.

"Yes master," the feline said with an even stiffer nod, her chin moving only slightly as she did. Shadow Weaver put the tips of her fingers together and the entire room could feel she was giving her apprentices a grim smile. "Well then, may the force be with you. Rip them to shreds, my children, make them suffer."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The seat of her fighter was less comfortable than Adora had last remembered but she paid the slight stinging no mind. Rather she tried to stay focused as the ship underneath her started humming louder and louder, the engines preparing to make one last jump through hyperspace to reach their destination. Korriban, the real holy home of the Sith would soon be back in their possession. The blonde checked her fighter one last time, running one last prognosis to see if all systems were online. A thing she paid special attention to was the little modified hyperdrive that she had tried to install for months. Last time she had tried to use it, she had almost crashed into an asteroid. Yet, it had worked.

"Hey, is everything alright?" the voice of Catra sounded over the comlink strapped to her head, a slight faint of worry swinging within the mumbled words.

"Yeah, I'm fine Catra. Just checking if everything's still working," Adora responded, flipping the switch to power down the routines still running to prove the ship was alright. Pushing her worries aside, the young Sith trainee pulled down the belt from over her shoulder, securing it for good. Then she put her hands onto the steering wheel in front of her. The warm leather seemed to animate her to push it forwards and race out of the hangar into battle.

"All wings report in," the feline's voice said, evoking a stream of replies from the fighters of their squadron.

"Red Three, standing by."

"Red Five, standing by."

"Red Two Leader, standing by," Adora replied, a smirk carved into her face. This was it, her first _real_ battle. The fear and anger were pushed down somewhere down to the depths of her belly, only producing a slightly damp feeling of unease. Underneath her, she could feel the ship coming to a hard halt as a voice over the loudspeakers bellowed, "Ready for hyperspace jump." Closing her eyes, the blonde got one last glimpse of the starts becoming blurred until they looked like small stripes of pure light when the ship bolted forwards into the inter-dimensional portal. Her stomach turned upside down as they reached light speed but she had accustomed to the feeling for years.

It took them just a few seconds but Adora knew how many miles they had flown through, unseen by the crews of the ships along the way. The girl pushed a button and with a loud hiss, her engine started. The roar of the other engines around her answered soon after, blue beams of light blasting out of the back ends of the fighters. Another quick motion enabled the front-faced laser turrets, maximum destruction packed into a small package. The buzzing of energy flowing through the entire ship reached every small part of her soul, evoking even more conflicting emotions that desperately tried to surface. However, the Sith trainee didn't give into it.

This was her chance to show the republic what beast they had unleashed when they had bombarded her village as a child. Now, after years of preparation, she could finally avenge the death of her parents, make the Galactic Republic pay, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.

"Prepare for battle," the voice from the speakers sounded again, the star destroyer noticeably slowing down as their destination came nearer at high speeds. With a deafening boom, the battleship emerged from the depths of hyperspace, the stars around it finally merging to small dots again. In front of Adora's viewport, a gigantic floating structure of metal floated above the red rugged surface of a storm-plagued planet. Korriban looked so much more threatening than in the pictures she had seen, the fear, pain, and anger the Sith had pledged their loyalty to, radiated from its surface.

Everything seemed to be quiet at the structure above the planet, the space station didn't seem to have noticed them yet. Nothing told them any battle stations were being manned except the lit lights inside. The insignia of the Galactic Republic was imprinted on the steel fueling Adora's rage.

"Squad, move out!" she barked, jerking her steering wheel forward. The blue of her engines intensified to a lighter shade of color, the heat intensifying as it was propelled into the space between the machines of destruction. Behind her, Catra followed her example; a fierce battle cry exited her throat as she did. The rest of the fighters formed up behind them, yelling "Oorah!" into the intercom to demonstrate their strength. All of them knew that not everyone would survive but their loyalty outdid their fear.

"Looks like we're getting some company up here guys!" Catra bellowed, pointing the nose of her ship towards one of the lit-up bays of the space station. And she was right, the white and orange forms of republican fighters raced out of the hangar, their pilots being even smaller than pinheads. They seemed to be headed right for their squadron.

Adora positioned her comlink one last time to give her comrades a reason to fight for, "Alright, this is it. May the force be with you and hail the emperor!" The squad behind her replied with one last cry before breaking out of formation to engage the enemy, leaving Catra and the blonde in their separate constellation.

"May the force be with you Catra," she said with a sad smile, the reply soon following, "May the force be with you too Adora, take care of yourself, we've still got some adventures to go on." The girl smiled, "Hell yeah we do, now let's show those assholes what we do with filthy republic scum!" And with one last glance on the blinking lights of the console, she gripped the ends of her steering wheel and pressed the triggers for her turrets.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So before we head to the battle of Korriban, I just quickly wanted to thank all of you guys for your amazing feedback! I uploaded yesterday and you already searched this up more than 150 times? What have I earned the honors with?! Hell, I doubted anyone would read this but looks like I was absolutely wrong! Thank you, you're all just amazing!


	5. Invasion

With a loud indelible sound, the energy of the gun bolted forwards in a big beam of light. It was like watching a shooting star fall out of the sky, beautiful but deadly and destructive where it touched. The enemy fighters were able to dodge the incoming fire, however, Catra saw her chance to strike. With a maniacal laugh, she pulled the trigger, aiming for one of the ships that had swarmed out of the protective formation.

A ball of fire ignited in the cockpit of the republic soldier; his ship quickly being annihilated by the explosion of his reactor. The lifeless body of the man floated out of the wreckage, it was uncertain if anyone would ever find it or if it would endlessly drift in the endless dark space surrounding him until the gravity of a planet pulled him out of it.

"That's number one," Catra said over the comlink, "Still a couple more to go." With a grim nod, Adora opened fire once more, aiming for the middle of the squad in front of her. This time she scored a hit, setting the wing of a fighter on fire. If it wasn't for the empty vacuum surrounding them, Adora could have sworn she heard the man scream out in terror as his controls started lightening up like a Christmas tree.

Bolts of energy rushed towards the blonde as the other fighters came into range. Through a quick nosedive, she dodged them, the light only closely missing the top of her spacecraft. That was just what she had expected. Tilting her steer, she performed a pirouette, catapulting herself above Catra where she once again squeezed the trigger.  
"Hey there Adora, how's it going?" the feline teased and looked upwards through the glass top of her cockpit. The blonde stared back and laughed, her voice reaching the depths of Catra's heart beneath. She couldn't help but blush from the conflicting happiness Adora gave her, this was a battlefield and even here the blonde had this effect on her.

It was then they realized the enemy fighters were still closing in, playing a dangerous game of who-dodges-first. Ripping the vehicle around, Catra flew beneath the tight enemy formation, quickly attempting to fall into their backs by turning off her left engine mid-flight. The energy propelled her into position, the window in front pointing at one of her opponents' glowing backs. With an excited scream, the feline fired, hitting her target within seconds, leaving nothing behind but blackened scraps of the once white exterior.

"Hey, Adora! What's up with you, I haven't seen you shooting down anyone yet!" she boasted through the headpiece, evoking a jealous little sting in her friend.   
"Oh, I'm going to show you some shooting then," she answered, quickly turning around her fighter and rushing behind two of the airborne enemies. The first shot hit the spacecraft right in the tail, leaving it spiraling to its doom on the surface of Korriban below. The second man, however, didn't seem to be as easy to defeat as his comrade.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"What is he-", Adora attempted to say as the fighter's engines turned off, forcing the Sith trainee to steer out of the way in a rush. She raced past him, catching a short glimpse of the orange and white helmeted silhouette inside staring back before it disappeared out of view. It was too late to shut off her engines herself, Adora realized as her board computer started beeping furiously as it detected the enemy signature behind the empire's fighter she was flying.

"Damn it, I got one on my tail, can't shake him off!" she barked through the intercom, pulling Catra's attention on her from the growing distance. "Hold on," the feline sounded, throwing herself into a tight curve to dodge another shot from two of the incoming fighters streaming out from the intestines of the flying fortress above the planet as they started following the girl.

"Adora, turn around. Let's play a little chicken with them." Adora tilted her head as she tried to escape the beams of light hunting her. "Catra this is not the ti-" she said, only to be alerted by the rapid beeping of an incoming homing missile. "Just do what I say!" the feline replied, her voice almost breaking as she did. The blonde closed her eyes for a split second, channeling her strength one last time. "Alright, ready yourself," she agreed, turning her fighter around to face her incoming friend. Shoving the lever for her thrusters forward, the vehicle was catapulted into the direction, leaving the enemy no choice but to do the same.

"Tilt in three," Catra's voice sounded as they got closer and closer to each other, both of them seeing their opposite grow in front of their cockpits. "Two," Adora answered, putting one of her hands on the throttle lever and the other one on her wheel, ready to flip her fighter into a vertical position. Her heart stopped as her friend yelled, "One!"

Time slowed down around them as they looked each other in the eyes, not needing to say the command, neither which way to choose but relying on the force to tell them when to turn. And with a sudden jerk of their wheels, both of the Sith apprentices positioned their fighters parallel to each other, only centimeters parting the bottoms of their feet as the raced by. The clueless republic fighters couldn't even scream before their crafts crashed into each other, igniting in a giant explosion that sent shrapnel to every side.

"Woohoo, I call that a hell of a kill!" Catra cheered and spun through the air in celebration. Adora laughed at the boasting feline, turning around to follow her back to the station.   
"Let's not get fed up with it you hear me, the fight's not over yet!" she said into her headpiece with a smirk before returning to her friend's side. The feline looked at Adora trough the quartz of her window, showing her small fangs as she smiled widely. "Oh, I never said it was. This is where the fun begins!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The space station towered above them as they spun circles around it, sometimes meeting one of the orange republic fighters and taking it down in a last blaze of glory before leaving the scrap floating in space. Both of them sensed a presence inside the metal construct, the strong aura of someone in bond with the light side of the force. Catra growled into the intercom, "Jedi." "I sense them too," Adora answered while damaging another one of the turrets trying to shoot them down from the surface of the station. The tower lightened up red when the energy split its protective shield in two, leaving the gun in an irreparable state.

"All squads heads up, Lord Vindican and his apprentice are paying the station a visit," the voice of an imperial trooper sounded from their headsets, sending shivers down their spines as they felt the cold dark presence of the Sith lords approaching. Their craft was much bigger than the two girl's fighters, the interceptor being one of the more versatile ships of the imperial fleet, some even considering it the best there was.

"Let's go in!" the feline said, her voice sparkling with excitement as she used her thrusters to rush to the interceptor's side. "Catra, I don't think-" her friend tried to respond, her voice being cut off by the cold voice of someone saying, "Stand down, the Jedi are ours." Catra and Adora both immediately slowed down as if bitten by a tarantula, letting the craft pass them.

"Was that-" "-Malgus..." the blonde explained, her heart still beating up to her throat. The apprentice of Lord Vindican was feared for his extreme violence; once he had killed an imperial officer for simply not greeting him quickly enough. His master wasn't kind, in no world he was but he at least showed a certain kind of respect even towards the younglings at Dromund Kaas, making him seem hard but rewarding. Malgus, however, had nothing of that, he hated everyone with passion, his presence was sickening even for members of the high council.

"Let's just, uhm, forget this happened, alright?" Catra mumbled, turning her ship towards the still-raging battle, her cheeks burning with embarrassment.   
"Oh yeah? I think this will be a great tease for later," the blonde mocked, grinning widely as her friend pretended to bump her ship into Adora's. Then, both of them started blasting the remaining republic fighters to shreds, leaving nothing behind as they had promised.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The battle was almost over when they heard something that got their attention.  
"Attention, we've got a Corellian XS freighter starting from bay six!" Lonnie remarked, her voice sounding tinny and far away through the connection.

"Isn't bay six where Vindican and Malgus are?" Catra asked, her ears fluttering in confusion. Adora waited with her answer as she curved around the bottom of the structure to get another look onto the shielded area the two Sith had just entered. And the feline had been right, the big number six was imprinted on the battle-scarred metal of the station.

"Looks like they left us something to eat too," the blonde answered, a grin splitting her dry lips as she saw the shape of the big ship emerge from the landing bay, its side scraping along the Sith interceptor and damaging it extensively. Then, with a flash of blue light, it started from the hangar, quickly closing in on the two apprentices' fighters.   
Adora steered her ship right at the enemy before ripping her eyes open and yelling, "Watch out for those Ion-Cannons!"

The blonde was merely able to dodge the incoming ball of blue light, a part of the energy hitting the bottom of her fighter. Her control board flashed with red lights, telling her how big the damage was. "Adora!" Catra yelled, a lump of fear and pain bursting in her stomach, slowly forming into a solid ball of anger.

"I'm fine, it just scraped the hyperdrive!" Adora replied, blasting herself into position behind the armored freighter, "Let's blow up this hunk of metal!" She pressed her triggers, earning a satisfying hit on the retractor shield of her enemy. What she also earned was the sudden feeling of nausea as she realized she had been suppressing a feeling the force sent her.

"There's a Jedi on that ship," she hissed towards Catra, flinging her ship to the right as another burst of bolts was fired her way. The feline just growled in response, she felt it too, the weak and puny essence of light inside the metal hull. With a yell of anger, she unleashed a series of hateful shots on the freighter, the ship only being able to dodge a couple of them. It was steered towards one of the empire's great star destroyers, taking fire from its forward laser batteries.

Catra dodged one of the metal parts of the destroyer with a shriek before noting, "Whoever is steering that ship has to be delusional." "Yeah, no shit!" Adora said, spinning once more to avoid the incoming cold blue fire. This time, she was too slow.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

With a loud crack, something broke in the machine underneath the blonde as one of the bolts hit the bottom of her fighter again, leaving her steering wheel dangling on the console without being able to maneuver.  
"I'm hit!" she yelled, unable to do anything about her situation. Another ball of energy hit her wing, ripping the entire structure out of its socket yet miraculously leaving the frail cockpit unscathed.

Catra's voice cracked as she screamed, "Adora, no!" and spiraled away from the fleeing Corellian ship to save her friend. The console lightened up, multiple lights flashing as the blonde lost altitude, quickly gaining speed as she raced towards the red surface of the planet below. She knew this was it, she had lost and this first battle would be her death. Tears streamed into her eyes, "I'm not going to make it Catra, save yourself!"

Above her, the dark shape of the feline's ship raced along, trying to keep up the pace as not to lose the falling fighter. Adora wasn't able to see anything through the blurred vision of her eyes when Catra croaked, "No, I won't leave you! There has to be a way, what about your landing gear?!" The blonde shook her head, a sob leaving her sore throat, "I have no heat shields and you know that at this rate I will get cooked when I enter the atmosphere. GO!"

"I won't! Think, Adora, focus, I beg you! Don't give up on me!" the feline answered, her voice not being able to hit any tone right as it came out like the scraping of metal on metal. Inside the spinning cockpit, Adora's heart ached as she realized that she would never be able to see Catra ever again, never to lean against her shoulder nor hear her cute giggle one more time. In her mourning, a thought popped up in her head. She stared at the console in front of her, seeing only one light not flickering: The hyperdrive.

"Catra listen, I have an idea, but you won't like it," she said over the comlink, soon after getting the reply, "Anything that can save you!" She sighed, channeling her last strength resorts, "I will overload the hyperdrive, that's my only option."

"What?! That could kill you!" Cara answered, frantically trying to win the battle against time as she saw the parts of her friend's fighter facing the planet slowly start glowing in red light as they got nearer to the atmosphere.   
"I will die anyway but it's a plan! I can't use the computer in here so I have no clue where I'll jump to. I'm completely blind," the blonde Sith apprentice responded, putting her hand on the switch for the hyperdrive. Tears entered her eyes again, "Do you trust me?"

The feline above couldn't keep up the speed anymore, slowly getting passed by the now burning wreckage of her friends, an uncontrollable sob building up in her throat, "I do Adora, I'll find you anywhere you go, I promise." Adora closed her eyes, shutting out the curtain of salty water streaming down her cheeks, "Thank you Catra, I know you will keep that promise."

A sudden jerk rocked the falling aircraft, ripping the blonde's hand forwards and activating the hyperdrive for her. "No! Not yet, Catra I-!" she screamed in pained horror as the stars above her morphed into spears of light and her body was ripped towards the opening portal. She could hear Catra's voice one last time, yelling something unintelligible before her head hit the back of her seat, sending hot pain to her brain until darkness ripped her out of reality.


	6. Lost

Her eyes were swollen when she extended the landing gear with the flick of her finger, earning a light shake in response as the metal legs touched the steel floor of the hangar. Catra wiped away the tears one last time before opening the cockpit and letting her feet dangle over the ledge. The cold water on her face started to form a slight irritating crust but she wasn't in the state to notice. With a rumble the construction beneath picked up the fighter, slowly lifting it into the storage compartment it belonged into. The feline took a deep shaky breath to help her cope with the pain occupying her heart. She had given Adora a promise, and she would keep it at all costs.

The ground underneath her partially bare feet was cold, almost colder than she liked it but Catra couldn't care less. Crossing her arms in front of her chest she started rubbing the bare skin of her arms, trying to feel anything but the throbbing of her eyes, the burning of her head, and the screams of agony coming from her chest. All she wanted now was a comfy bed, a blanket and her best friend there to comb her mane, however, she knew she would have to do without on one of those things.

"Catra, where is Adora?"

The dark shape of Shadow Weaver floated out of the main hallway, inky darkness following her on each invisible step. Catra felt her presence, however, she didn't even dare to look up into her master's eyes. What she did feel was the cold fear being irradiated by her, the cold claws of despair slowly gripping around her chest and making it hard for the feline to breathe. Shadow Weaver grew impatient, her hand waving around in the cold air, "I will not ask again, child. Where is Adora?"

"Gone. She was shot down by the Jedi," Catra whispered, tears filling her eyes once more as she remembered the rain of sparks Adora's fighter had shed like blood when the ion cannon had ripped off its wing like a sadistic little child would rip out the wings of a fly. A long silence arose, settling into her skin like ashes, slowly marking her with pain for everyone to see. Her master remained silent for that same moment, only staring at Catra with her mask hiding her widely opened eyes.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

With a sudden jerk, the feline was lifted off her feet, her face being painfully squished by Shadow Weaver's gloved hand. The dark clouds around them started forming a bubble around the two Sith, the light from the outside being completely diminished in the process.  
"Insolent child, what have you done? It is surely your fault she was hit; it always is! I should dispose of your unnecessary existence right here and now!" the dark woman yelled, her voice echoing off the seemingly solid darkness.

Catra's eyes widened as she extended her hand, her fingers crackling with blue energy as they came nearer towards her face. The feline's heart was beating so loudly that it felt like the organ had moved its way up her throat in a very unnatural way. She was unable to scream; the tone being swallowed by whatever dark power Shadow Weaver was using on her.

"Wait," Catra managed to croak out, leaving her master's hand stop just centimeters away from her face in hesitation. The bolts of energy still crackled and hissed like a whole armada of snakes, their heat slowly singing her cheek and making it feel like it was about to burst into fire at any second. She had been through this treatment so many times before, enduring the pointless and tyrannical rule of her master for years. Even though she had felt like this more than a hundred times already, the raw strength and the face of death terrified her nonetheless.

"What is it? Any last words, maybe a reason why I shouldn't incinerate you in this very second?" Shadow Weaver asked, her voice cold and filled with hate, anger, and disappointment. The feline's tail whipped around, her head furiously trying to find a way to escape her impending doom. What could she say that would prove her master wrong in her belief she didn't need her apprentice anymore? Anything could help, she had to think what the dark woman's goals were now after what had happened to Adora.

"Adora is not dead, she managed to jump into hyperspace before she would have been obliterated in the atmosphere. Her track records should reveal where she is right now. I can and will find her, I promise master! You need me," the brunette explained, her feet still trying to reach the safe ground below. The dark Sith master stared at her apprentice struggling to survive, her mask leaving the feline in her claws no clue what she was thinking.

Her heart stopped for a short second when her master moved again, slowly withdrawing her hand from her face and letting her feet down to the ground again. With a relieved sigh, Catra patted her neck to search for any injury, the small marks underneath her fingers burning only slightly. Though, Shadow Weaver was not finished with her yet how she had to learn after the woman's hand hit her face out of nowhere with the strength of a Rancor. Burning pain ran through the feline's entire face, evoking a shriek of agony as she hit the floor, not having expected any further punishment. Her watery eyes wandered back to her master, the dark red robes of the woman slowly turning as she prepared to walk away.

"Begging for mercy? You're a miserable failure, do you know that? Go, find Adora, and get out of my sight. The next time you walk in here, you better have her with you or it'll be the last time such a disappointment like you walk on Sith property," the dark master told Catra, her head being tilted sideways in a slight angle symbolizing she was not joking at all. It had been a close call this time and next time, Shadow Weaver wouldn't hesitate, the feline knew that. All she could do in response was form a shaky nod, her face still stinging with unbearable pain.

"Good, good," her master mumbled, dissolving the dark bubble around them with the wave of her hand, leaving Catra's crumpled form lying on the ground as she took the same way she had come from. The feline stood up, trying to ignore the stares from the troopers in the hangar around her. A sudden sting in her chest made her flinch, Adora had unknowingly brought her into a great risk, she took a little part of the fault Catra had to endure this treatment. With a shake of her head, the Sith apprentice brushed away the feeling of betrayal, knowing it was wrong to think something like this. She would find her friend and then they would together again, this time without taking unnecessary risks that could tear them apart. This time they would remain at each other's side forever.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The space around her was cold, a slight breeze blowing through the stone door on her left. A comfortable blanket was wrapped around her body, lending its warmth to the shivering blonde lying on the rather soft mattress of a wooden bed. With a groan she rubbed the back of her head, noticing the soft linen wrapped around it. A bandage, very similar to the ones the empire used. Adora smiled as she smelled the whiff of food somewhere in the distance, reminding her of the good old times before everything that had happened.

Then with a sudden jerk of her head, she remembered why she was here. The invasion, her fighter being shot down, the hyperspace jump, Catra yelling after her with pain in her voice. Where exactly was she and why was she not dead? And if she had survived the crash anyway, why wasn't she somewhere in the midst a field filled with scrap?

"Hello?" she asked out loud, her voice brittle and dry from not having drunken anything in a long time. Adora immediately cursed herself for being loud, she didn't need her captors to know she was awake. With her heart in her mouth, she waited for a response, someone to walk through the stone doorway that was covered with merely a cloth to protect her from the sun's light. Fortunately, no one followed her call, leaving her some time to straighten up in bed and look around the room.

The furniture was nothing too much different from the one she was used to in the imperial cruisers, recognizing one of the weirdly shaped silhouettes as a wardrobe. She took a quick look downwards at herself, noticing her jacket, as well as her lightsaber, was missing. Whoever took her into hospitality wanted her to be defenseless. Adora felt exposed without her weapon, she had grown up with it as part of her body, as a second soul, you could say. "Okay Adora, let's stand up," she whispered to herself, putting one of her legs on the ground, adding the second one just seconds after. With one last deep breath, she shifted her weight.

The ground greeted her face with a soft thud as her legs refused to work, all the strength drained from them. A loud groan left her mouth as a sudden wave of nausea overcame her, her mouth instantly filling with an unpleasant taste of old vomit. Everything in front of her eyes seemed to liquefy, the hard shapes of the furniture disappearing into incomprehensible blurred lines.

"I think our visitor is awake, father," a voice sounded from the outside of the hut, a slight bit of concern intertwined with the tone of it.   
"Well then, let's see how she's doing then," a different voice answered, way deeper and more pleasant to listen to, Adora's back suddenly becoming stiff as she compared it to her father's, finding many striking similarities. Yet, she knew he was dead; she had been found next to his and her mother's corpse so she tried to suppress the upcoming feeling of dread to concentrate on who her captors were. And her wish was soon fulfilled when a big, threatening looking and robed figure threw its shadow on her face.

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"Hello there," the man said, his voice sending shivers down Adora's spine once again as she laid on the cold dusty ground. His dark eyes dwelt upon her with a look of kindness in them the Sith had never seen, warm joy and devotion mixed into the two glowing orbs. She was suspicious, however, who knew what he was hiding from her. The man's shape told a different story, muscular with a more olive shade of skin, he looked like he had been working hard out on the fields every day. His hands just fitted that style, rough with long scars running down the palms like small white rivers.

Behind him, the silhouette of a girl emerged from behind the small curtain. She looked different than the man, only a few similarities were visible enough. The biggest was her eyes, the same glow irradiated from them, however, her glare didn't look as inviting as his. She was dressed in all shades of purple, a small robe flowing off her shoulders and touching the ground beneath.

"Uhm, hello?" Adora replied, her eyes still darting between them like she was a timid antelope, trying to analyze the danger these two were posing. The man laughed, "I see you've tried to explore your room a little? Now now, you haven't rested enough, back to bed you go."

Stepping forwards he took Adora beneath her arms, easily lifting her back onto the mattress and pulling out a weirdly shaped bottle of water from one of the drawers nearby. He gave it to the young Sith who couldn't help but greedily empty the whole bottle in a few thirsty gulps, earning herself a disgusted look from the girl on the other side of the room.

After having put the bottle on top of the drawer again she looked the man in the eyes, seeing a slight glimpse of worry in them as she asked, "Who are you and where am I? What happened?"  
Before he could say anything, the girl on his side opened her mouth, "We shouldn't answer questions of Sith scum, you know that dad. And why are we even giving her water and medical supplies, she could kill us at any moment!"

The man turned around to her, the corners of his mouth pointing downwards, "Glimmer, haven't I taught you that you treat everyone good, even your enemies? This is the true Jedi way, and you should follow it."

Adora's head jerked up in surprise and shock, her hand frantically touching the empty part next to her waist where her lightsaber should have been. Fear flooded her mind as she couldn't even feel the presence of the weapon in the room. What she instead felt was the brute force of the light side in the two persons surrounding her, making her stomach turn upside down.

"You are Jedi?!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry guys but today's update on my story won't be happening. Due to my grandfather having passed away recently, I have had a pretty hard time and way too little time to write BUT I promise, tomorrow I will give my best to finish the next chapter!


	7. Rescue

"You are Jedi?!"

Adora's eyes darted between the girl, Glimmer, her father, the supposed Jedi, and the small cloth-covered entrance. Her heart was jumping in her chest like a captured animal trying to escape its bonds. The man in front of her carefully raised his hands, trying his best to calm the Sith down. The Jedi's coat was slightly raised by the gesture, however, revealing the smooth hilt of a lightsaber hanging down his belt.

"We are not going to harm you in any way! I swear by the order," he said, slowly coming closer to the bed, his arms still in the same position as before. His eyes were focused on Adora, their big brown iris having a certain kind of mesmerizing effect on her, drowning her in their calmness and focus. She knew this was some sort of trick, the girl felt how the force around her was smoothly manipulated to mess with her head. Though no mind trick would work on the Sith, she was a person of pure focus and sheer will.

"Oh yeah, why are you trying your dirty little brainwashing on me, huh? I don't trust you and you know damn right why," the blonde said, jumping up from the soft bed and ignoring the stinging pain in her head. Taking up her fists she yelled, "Step out of the way and you will not be harmed!" The Jedi seemed to fall for the trick, his eyes glazing over just for a split second as the dark side tried to enter his mind. He took a step back, only to be stopped by his daughter.

"Of course we will! Should we maybe give you a blaster to shoot us down right here too? You're outnumbered two to one, just sit back down so we can explain," Glimmer replied, her hand held out in front of her body, slowly manipulating the force to let it glow in a weird shade of pink. Adora understood she was trying to seem intimidating but hell, she was failing miserably at it.

The Sith grinned, "You mean one and a half against one. I like those odds." The Jedi's daughter blushed as she heard the insult, her face not looking as pleased and arrogant as before. The next thing that happened surprised Adora immeasurably. The Jedi stepped back, leaving her free passage through the narrow door towards the lightened-up exterior. His daughter glared at him but he simply replied it with a stare of his own, making the girl flinch and follow his example.

"You are free to go, as I said, we pose no threat," he explained, pointing towards the entrance in a swift manner. Adora cocked her head in disbelief, still keeping her hands up in case they tried to make a move. "I swear if this is a trap," she mumbled, her back feeling uncomfortably exposed as she walked in between the two supposed enemies of the Empire, not taking her eyes off any of them while simultaneously trying to watch the entrance. Her head, however, wasn't in the state to cope with so many distractions at once; a stinging pain arose in her temple, causing the young Sith to flinch and hold her head. The Jedi took a step forward, real worry flaring up in his orbs yet Adora quickly backed away out of the hut.

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The soft cloth over the entrance caressed her back as she took another step back into the sunlight. A soft breeze slipped through her hair, carrying the sweet smell of an unknown plant. Warmth streamed through her stiff limbs as the sun above the planet started affecting her skin and the toned muscles beneath. A soft groan left her lips as Adora closed her eyes to enjoy the sensation, taking her sight off the small house in front of her for a quick second after no one emerged to follow her.

It was strange to see the two Jedi let her go, something was fishy about this. The Sith used the force to expand her senses, seeking the cold hilt of her lightsaber somewhere around. Turning around she gasped as she realized where she was. She was standing in the middle of a small village, humans walking all around ignored her suspicious behavior completely. Most of them looked like normal farmers, others, however, had a shadier appearance. Their jackets were lined with strange symbols, horned nightmarish creatures from the greater regions of space; smugglers. A man walking by stared at the Sith apprentice with a disgustingly hungry look that made her blood freeze in her veins. Taking a quick step backward she concentrated on the cold aura of her saber again, listening to its silent whispering to make out its location.

She followed the invisible line through the entire village, past old women washing clothes, past men screaming to sell their goods on not very sturdy looking stands and a small town center with an open yard. Adora stopped as she heard the excited giggling of a child. Turning around she faced the yard's middle in which, protected by a couple of trees with strange reddish leaves, stood a Punch and Judy show. A small group of children sat in front of it, their mouths opened in awe and their eyes glistening with excitement. It sent a shock wave through the girl's body, seeing them sit there without any worries on their mind.

Their giggling made Adora remember the days before everything had gone down the drain. She pictured herself and Catra sitting in the middle of their old village playing Jedi and Sith, one of their favorite games at that time. The feline had always wanted to be the "bad guy", taking on the role of the Sith while Adora took her stick to defend the Jedi order. Both of them were very young then, no worries, no idea about the conflict building up around them, no idea where their allegiances would lie in the future.

A sad smirk laid on her face as she saw one of the children, a little girl, take the hand of another only to lightly pinch her, evoking an amused shriek from her friend. The Sith's heart hurt even more when she saw them chase each other through the narrow streets, wishing she could turn back time to feel like them one more time. Then she shook her head; Adora wasn't here to drown in silly memories of a past that had been filled with lies and the pain that followed it. She was here to find her lightsaber and hope for some kind of rescue from Catra. Giving the bridge of her nose a quick massage to push away all the distractions she stepped out of the yard and followed the main road towards the savanna-like landscape where she felt the presence of her weapon.

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The ground was getting mushy after she left the road to follow her inner compass. Large trees similar to the one Adora had seen in the village started to line her way, their red leaves rustling in the wind and creating a nice shady place to cool down from the hot sun. The blonde had started to grow even more nervous, suspecting the Jedi to jump out from behind every tree, stand in the shadow of a nearby giant flower or simply walk behind her when she couldn't see it. God, how much she missed having Catra walk next to her knowing she'd defend her friend with her life and the other way around.

"What the-" the Sith mumbled as she spotted a pushed over tree, its bark still smoking slightly as blue resin oozed from the jagged wound. The earth next to it was similarly messed up, a long trench with parts of metal still sticking out of the scorched soil.

"Another happy landing," Adora sighed before jumping down into the freshly opened scar trying not to step on anything sharp that could burrow into her footing. Following the trail of destruction, she noticed the damage she'd done to the environment, spotting one of the giant orange and red flowers having been severed right through its stem and lying on the ground like a big beautiful but lifeless carcass. She did feel somewhat sorry for damaging something this beautiful, turning it into a patch of darkened soil and dead plants even though it was not her fault she had crashed.

Her fists were clenched when she remembered feeling the Jedi's presence on the freighter, the impact of the ion blast ripping her fighter to shreds. Immense pain and anger flowed through her body fueling the dark side in her as the memories flashed before her eyes, making her sight slightly reddish.

Adora had been so focused on her smoldering rage that she didn't notice the debris in front of her feet growing larger, parts of what had been the console lying scattered between gravel and kicked up the soil.

"Ow," she bellowed as she walked face-first into a large chunk of metal in her way. Rubbing the top of her forehead the blonde took a step back to examine the obstacle. The once black color had started melting off the silver steel compound of the fighter, the shining metal piercing through the darkness in several spots. Red stains of molten paint vaguely resembled the hexagon of the Empire, the Sith laid her hand on the symbol with a look of sadness on her face. Seeing her fighter in this state was sad, she and Catra had spent hours lying underneath the strung-up ship, trying to modify and fix various parts on it.

"Looks like we won't get off this planet together old friend," she said, giving the hull of the cockpit a light pat before climbing up the slope to get around it. The cold feeling of her saber was very close now, she could hear whispers emanating from the engraved hilt.

Her first look on the other side fell onto the smashed window of the cabin, sharp quartz crystal lying all over the ground. They crunched underneath her feet as she stepped closer towards the smashed console, some of the buttons still blinking by unknown power surges through the leaking generator. It wasn't hard to get through the big hole in the middle of the glass, it had seemingly been cut to the right shape for someone to enter by an incredibly hot tool.

"Huh, it looks like the Jedi cut his way in there to get me out..." Adora told herself while touching the blackened edges of the oval lines the lightsaber had drawn. She shook her head, why did he even care? He had seen the emblem of the Sith Empire on her fighter and had the perfect opportunity to dispatch of her when he had the chance. Why didn't he? The blonde brushed aside some of the metal parts and wires hanging down from the ceiling as she stepped into the broken fighter still lost in confusion, not noticing one of the shadows behind her moving slowly.

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The first item Adora found was her red jacket. She picked it up thinking it was some kind of cloth the Jedi had used to make sure he didn't hurt himself but it turned out to be the remains of her coat. The red fabric had been shredded in multiple places, making some of the bandaged wounds on her body sting as she realized where they'd come from. Even though the girl didn't want to she threw the rag away, so many memories were connected to it but she couldn't just carry it around like an old doll.

She sighed as the fabric floated through the air and settled in the dust before the Sith turned around to follow the silent cries of her saber. Brushing through a small pile of quartz beneath the right side of her seat Adora felt the cold metal of her saber touch the tips of her fingers. With a relieved shriek, she picked it up, examining the material for any major flaws. Thankfully, the metal was not scratched at all.

The Sith's excitement rose when she pressed the button to unleash the destructive energy in the weapon's core. She earned a satisfying hiss when the red blade unfolded, the humming of the kyber crystal making her heart rate slow as the missing part of her body returned to her hands. However, the silent screams in her head continued.

Surprised Adora bowed down once more as she saw the small metal tip of an object still sticking out of the pile of broken glass. Picking it up she realized what it was.  
"What is the Holocron doing here...? I didn't take it with me or did I?" she asked herself, slowly turning the quartz and steel hybrid in her hands. Red light flowed out of its middle, making the Sith's hands tremble as the coldness spread through her entire body.

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It took the blonde several seconds to stare at the still mysterious pyramidal object in her fingers, pulling all her concentration onto it. That was the reason why she didn't notice the threat in her back, the shadow behind her seemingly growing larger and slowly extending its grasp. The worm-like tentacles crept up on her, slowly slithering through the wreckage and pushing away parts of debris. The loud "ting" of metal hitting the ground finally made Adora turn around and her eyes widened as she spotted the thing sitting in a bush up the slope. It was too late for her to even react properly before her feet lost their touch to the ground.


	8. Peace was never an option

She could do nothing against it, the large predator approached Adora without any sound, giving her no clue it was there. She wanted to scream but her throat wouldn't work as she saw how the tentacle wrapped itself around the blonde's foot. Even running towards her didn't work, every step she took was like running on a conveyor belt, constantly keeping her in the spot she had been in the whole time. The large creature picked up her friend and she could hear her scream in pain and fear, making tears rise into her eyes as she desperately tried to save Adora. Extending her claws she slashed at the monster from afar, salty water streaming down her face as her attacks did not affect it at all. The girl collapsed, her knees touching the ground beneath her as a last cry of despair left her mouth, "Adora, no!"

Catra awoke to the blaring of an alarm. Her heart was still beating from what she had just witnessed, real dried tears lining her face as she wiped it off to clean herself. She felt as if she had just run for miles on end without a break while not having slept for days but her spirit was yet unbroken, the hope of finding and bringing Adora back still dwelling on her mind.

Red lights flashed above her head as she peeked out of her door to see what was going on. Everyone seemed to be in a hurry, squadrons of troopers quickly making their ways to their battle stations. The feline spotted Lonnie running down the hallway, Adora's and Catra's squadmates Rogelio and Kyle right behind her. Even though the Sith couldn't stand their presence she couldn't resist her urge of her confusion to yell, "Hey Lonnie, what the hell is happening again?"

The female trooper stopped on the spot, her friends following her example as they almost bumped into their unofficial leader. Lonnie turned around, her face completely dislodged from any emotion than cold hardness. "There's a gunship of the Republic approaching the fleet, it is unarmed and the senators inside want to negotiate," she explained. Catra could feel the boiling disgust and hatred underneath the trooper's skin, making her even more bitter than she was already. The feline's heterochromatic eyes dwelt on her opposite, trying to find a chink in her mental armor and make her feel her inner rage she had developed in her childhood. She had always been the one in the background, the weakling, the quiet kid. Adora had been the only person to explore her feelings and make her feel accepted in the Empire's ranks while Lonnie, Kyle, and Rogelio had acted distant and uninterested.

With a sneer, the Sith said, "Alright, dismissed soldier." Letting a small amount of her anger echo in the sentence, Catra got the reaction she wanted from the trooper, her eyes opening slightly wider and a scent of fear slithering into the tensed air. Kyle and Rogelio looked way more intimidated, their distance to the Sith increasing as they started to slowly back off whilst their scent polluted the space in between even more. With a tight nod, Lonnie backed off too, quickly rounding the corner to escape the feline's glare.

Catra moved her hand upwards to restrain her mane, stroking the brown hair to the back of her head with a long exhale. She tried to cleanse her soul from the smoldering rage, right now she didn't need it to use the force but she was easily able to dig it back up again if she had to. Now she had to get to the bridge in case that cruiser was just a set-up trap. Shaking her head the feline turned around to ask Adora about her opinion before flinching as she realized her friend wasn't there. Her eyes wandered back to the place the two had slept on together, the blankets still slightly messed up from the last time they had been there. Catra closed her eyes, she would get back Adora at any price, she didn't have to mourn as long as she didn't know the blonde wasn't dead. Still, the fear remained creeping in her heart as she ran towards the bridge, the pictures of her weird dream flashing in her mind.

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She arrived at the command structure relatively quickly, none of the dark soldiers in her path had even grumbled to make place for her, making the hallways almost completely clear for the feline. Catra stepped towards the big window facing space, thousands of stars twinkling in the cold blue vacuum upfront. Once again she was reminded of the misleading beauty when she saw how the Republic cruiser approached, it's turrets glistening in the red light of Korriban below. The white and orange outer hull was painted with the emblem of the enemy nation, the feline could almost smell their weakness and fear.

"I see you had the guts to come up here," a voice behind her said, the hate and disgust edged into its tone. Turning around she was greeted by the pale skin of someone she had not expected to meet. Malgus approached Catra with slow but menacing steps, making her heart jump with each one. The Sith's eyes dwelt on his opposite whose tail was just as tensed as the air around the two. The feline gulped, her throat barely being able to swallow down her fear, "Malgus, wh- where's Lord Vindican?" He grinned viciously, his white teeth blending in perfectly with the sickishly milky white skin of his face and the yellow ring around his iris glowing like a destructive star. Something had changed in him, he seemed more independent, less restrained like an animal set loose from its bonds.  
"Have you not heard the news? Lord Vindican is dead."

The room seemed to spin in a confusing loop as Catra realized what this meant. Malgus was not just any Sith apprentice anymore, he was now almost a full-fledged Sith with the priorities the rank of his old master had brought with them. Before she could even think about it the feline fell to her knee, shivering in fear of being struck down by her opponent's blade. "I apologize for my rude greeting Malgus, I was not aware of the situation," she explained, the floor in front of her eyes disappearing as she closed them to suppress the shivers running down her spine. The Sith in front of her seemed to let out a slight laugh filled with his superiority, "Rise apprentice, you have served the Empire well today, I shall be forgiving about your ignorance. Come, I want to show you something."

Catra, still shivering yet less concerned, rose, her gaze wandering to the back of Malgus standing at the reinforced window facing the enemy vessel. Her tail was still whipping in uneasiness as she stepped to the man's side, his eyes fixed on the distant shimmer of the armored cruiser. Giving him a quick look from the side she noticed that it wasn't just the edges of his eyes that had turned into an orange, almost red color, it was, in fact, his whole iris. She knew that this was a sign of the dark side user having fully embraced the destructive force of his hatred and anger, Malgus had completed his training with the biggest task there was.

"You killed him, didn't you master?," the feline asked, a small bit of regret and mourn in her voice as she remembered the powerful yet somewhat gentle Lord watching her and Adora's training sessions. Malgus nodded without giving Catra another look, "Yes, he failed to accomplish his mission. He was injured by one of the Jedi while the other escaped, he had to be put down." The girl nodded in understanding, she hated the methods of the Empire in that regard, failures were to be "put out of their miserable and puny life at any cost" and Catra had been on the edge of getting removed many times before. In Shadow Weaver's eyes, everyone apart from Adora was somewhat of a failure, the feline had never fully understood why her best friend was so special in her master's eyes.

"I understand. What did you want to show me master?" the brunette asked, her eyes scanning the distant ship while her senses told her the level of fear in its passengers. It was easy to see their blood boiling in their veins, listen to the beating of their hearts and smell the sickening scent of their sweat. She sneered at the weakness of the Republic, they hadn't even tried to attack and yet they had sent a committee to negotiate for peace. Disgusting.

Malgus grinned as he turned around, his yellow eyes reading Catra's feelings like an open book. "I want to show you what happens to failures," he said, his presence setting a big weight on the feline's chest, her breath quickening under the pressure. The dark Sith nodded towards one of the officers, receiving a similar response. With a quick turn, the man ran towards one of the lowered command posts next to him, telling the men inside what to do. Catra could hear the hull of the star destroyer around her creak loudly as one of the engineers pressed a couple of buttons and used a joystick to shift something on the exterior of the battleship. Her mouth opened into a gap of confusion as she watched one of the big ion cannons being focused at the incoming cruiser.

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"What do you want to do with that...?" the feline asked even though she knew the answer already. Her opposite laughed out loud, the viciousness in his voice making a shiver go down Catra's spine and puff her tail. "Those cowards have had enough time to see the strength of the Imperial fleet and send images of it back to the Jedi, now they will experience the real power of our forces."

He raised his hand, a claw of steel forming a fist of iron, raised and ready to unleash destruction upon his enemies. Catra didn't know how to respond, even though she despised the weakness of the Republic she had no intention of killing many innocent and unarmed men and women who had been promised safe passage. All she could do was watch as the Sith let his fist fall, giving the destroyer's command the signal to fire. He got his wish. A giant ball of red energy rushed forward, quickly followed by a whole volley of twins as they rushed towards the helpless vessel.

The feline watched with horror as the first shot hit the cruiser, the energy merely being deflected by the shield generators inside. She could feel the people inside scream as a rumble ran through the ground they were standing on and the lights flashed off as the power was redirected to the forward shields. They stood no chance to the second shot, the bolt penetrating the whole shield and hitting the top of the cruiser, ripping open a giant hole in the steel. A single tear slipped down Catra's cheek as one voice after the other was snuffed out, even the lonely voice of a little boy. She felt his pain as he was exposed to the cold of space, his eyes glazing over as his body was quickly covered with ice crystals. It was as if millions of voices suddenly cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced.

She wiped away the small drop before Malgus turned around, his face filled with the pleasure of his success. Then he looked down at the feline in front of him, "Failures are to be exterminated. I have heard from you and your friend's little accident out there and that you abandoned her. From what Shadow Weaver told me, she is an important part of our plan to destroy the Jedi order. Do not disappoint me and you shall live, bring this girl back and I will spare you. If not, well then I will not be able to help you anymore." Catra backed off, slowly targetting the exit of the bridge with her eyes darting around the whole room.

"I will set off right now master, I will be successful, I promise," she said and earned a vicious smirk from Malgus in response. Rounding the corner she stopped and turned around only to break into a run. Rushing down the hallway hot tears streamed down her face like small rivers.

"Adora, where are you when I need you?"


	9. Unexpected allies

"Let me go!" the blonde yelled. Her golden hair was ripped around as the world spun upside down. The ground suddenly found its way to the top of her eyes while the sky glided underneath her feet. All Adora could do was wiggle and yell as she was picked up, the large tendril of whatever beast had gotten a hold of her wrapped around her ankle. With a loud thud, her head hit the dark remains of the fighter's cockpit. Sharp waves of pain rippled through the Sith's entire body, the light in front of her eyes died out for just a quick second. Unconsciousness tried its best to enter Adora's mind but her defenses held the invisible creeping enemy at bay. She was raised higher and higher off the ground, the grip on her leg tightening until it felt like it was crushing her bones to dust.

Another agonized scream left her mouth as she buckled up and tried to punch the large beast on its nonexistent fingers, earning only a slight rumble in response. The girl was facing the opposite side, away from the predator about to consume her. Its gigantic limbs towered above her dangling feet, the shadow of the unknown being reflected onto the wreckage beneath. "Leave me alone you stupid-" Adora bellowed, using the momentum of swinging to turn around, the words suddenly having a hard time coming out clearly as she understood what she was about to be eaten by.   
"Uhm...flower...?"

Whether the monster had a conscious intelligence or not, it did not seem to like the name the blonde had given it. The orange and red leaves that had looked like regular petals opened to reveal a gaping oval mouth, saliva dripping from the green fangs that, even though being composed of the same rather soft green material of its stem, seemed to be extremely sharp. A sickening smell of decomposition and sweet death reached Adora's nostrils, her stomach violently rebelling against the exposure. She plucked her nose with two fingers, letting out a sickened groan.   
"Urgh, have you ever heard of mouthwash?" she asked with a croaking voice and a crooked smile, hoping for the creature to at least show some kind of intelligence she could use against it. Unfortunately, the Sith wasn't that lucky.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

With another roar the carnivorous plant stretched out another limb, the gelatinous mass wrapping itself around her chest and squeezing it. The world in front of her eyes went dark once more, the wound on her scalp burned as blood rushed to her head, desperately trying to keep her alive. She felt a low trickle of the red liquid pour down, seeing a single drop fall to the ground beneath where it was immediately sucked up by the thirsty soil. Adora gasped for air while trying to get the pressure off her chest by hitting the plant once more. Going as far as scratching the thing with all the remaining force she had, the girl finally got the effect she had wished for. Green slush with blue streaks streamed out of the scratches, evoking a long shriek from the plant as it weakened its grip.

Time slowed down to a nauseating crawl as her opponent let out a roar before pulling Adora closer to its gaping mouth. The thoughts in her head were racing, there had to be something she could use to escape from the weakening beast. Her eyes searched the ground beneath, desperately looking for an answer to her question. And there it was, the silver hilt laid half-buried in the earth, a silent whisper telling the blonde what to do. The Sith closed her eyes, calming her heart and slowing her blood as she did. A feeling of coldness reached her heart, much like in the arena when she had fought Catra. Though this time, she felt peace instead of simple anger or passion. This was no way of the Sith, this was not the just the dark side. Without really realizing, Adora tapped into the light side of the force, harmony and calmness flooding every inch of her body.

The lightsaber rattled as it was dug free from its earthly restraints, small stones were flung into a different direction as it bolted towards Adora's hand. The engraved weapon reached the blonde, its cold metal frame finally touching her palm after what had felt like an eternity. With a simple squeeze of her hand, the red blade unfolded with its characteristic hissing as energy was bundled through the kyber crystal inside. She felt some sort of hesitation from the plant, a small shudder running through its green veins as it looked into the destructive force.

"Not so hungry now, are you?" the Sith said with a determined smirk before lashing out at the limbs still wrapped around her. The whirring of her saber was cut short as it reached the olive flesh, burning it to the point of melting. Like a knife through butter, the hot blade split the tendril in two, freeing Adora from the monster's grasp in an instant. It roared in what she assumed was pain and bolted back to avoid the heat of her weapon. That was just what she had hoped for, but one problem remained: Adora had forgotten where she was... About six feet in the air.

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"Woaaah!" she shrieked as gravity took its toll. The blonde plummeted towards the ground and tasted the fresh taste of newly dug up soil as she hit it face first. Spluttering for air and trying to spit out the rough material in between her teeth, she turned around to face her adversary one more time. The beast was wounded, yet she could feel that it was not ready to give up with an empty belly. She had to dodge one of its furious attacks, the green limb racing down on her like an oversized bat. Earth was whirled up when the tendril hit the spot Adora had just stood in, a small rumble running through the entire trench beneath her feet.

With a quick slash, she cut into it again, leaving a jagged black scar where tissue melted and blood boiled. The smell of sizzling meat reached her nostrils just moments after, the scent making her stomach rebel. Pulling the wounded part of its body away from the danger, the carnivorous plant seemed to hesitate before raising all its limbs at once to finish the job. The Sith knew there was no way of dodging this but she wouldn't give up. With a fierce battle cry, she raised her saber to cut through the tendrils as soon as they bolted down on her. With what looked like a grin, the plant did just that and the light was cut off by the size of its body when the air parted to make way for the attack. Adora closed her eyes, trusting in the force to lead her in these hard times and awaited her doom.

However, the strike never arrived. The loud crack of a gun violently cut off the roaring of the beast, its limbs falling next to the young Sith without hitting her at all. When she opened her eyes, she was surprised to see all of them cut clean off by someone. The plant laid still, slumped over with a big wound edged into its center. Her heart raced, could it be her?

"Catra? Is that you?" she asked with excitement and passion in her voice as she spotted a dark silhouette standing in the shadow of a nearby tree. The person lowered their weapon, slowly approaching the slope Adora was standing on.   
"Uhm, I have been called much but Catra is none of those words," her savior said as he emerged from the tree line. It was a boy, his broad-shouldered appearance told her that he seemed to have worked hard his entire life. His dark afro was cut back into a buzz style, perfectly matching his dark, almost black eyes, and brown tanned skin.

"I..." the Sith stuttered as the excitement in her throat diminished, her hopes of seeing her friend shattered by the boy's sudden appearance, "I'm sorry, I was expecting someone else..." He smiled, pure optimism and happiness being radiated by his gesture. It was too little to save Adora's dropping mood. Her eyes darted to the ground, her chest aching as she thought about still being far away from Catra.

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"Do you mean us?" another voice called out, this one was more familiar than the one of her savior. The girl's eyes shot upwards, instantly recognizing the form of the Jedi and his apprentice. Her hand was once more clutched around the hilt of her weapon, fear creeping into her mind as she expected them to make a move.   
"What do you want from me?" Adora growled, hate and suspicion swinging in her tone and mirroring the confusing clash of feelings in her heart. The Jedi raised his dark brow and crossed his arms in front of his chest before pointing at the dead plant in front of the Sith.

"It looked like you needed some help there. And I think Bow's marksmanship was just the right thing to take with us, right Bow?"   
The boy scratched the back of his head and laughed, "Well it wasn't even really moving, I bet you would have done it better than me anyway."

The man shook his head with a smile. Adora was more confused than ever about the friendliness of her supposed enemies. Now they had saved her life twice in just a couple of days, why would they do that? Hesitating for a second she put her lightsaber away, clipping it to her belt and earning a suspicious look from the girl, Glimmer. She seemed less pleased to meet Adora again, her face still showing the cold hostility from when they'd first met.   
"Th- thank you I guess..." she muttered, using her hands to caress the cloth over her shoulders. This was so weird, Shadow Weaver had displayed the Jedi as brutal force users who never hesitated to achieve their goal by misusing the force, bending it to their vicious will. Yet, these people were nothing as she had expected them to be.

"You're welcome," the Jedi said before he walked towards the slope and extended his hand towards the Sith apprentice to help her to get out of the trench she was standing in. She hesitated, first about to accept the help but then quickly pulling her hand back. The man smirked, "Hey, I don't bite. You don't have to be afraid."   
"Me? Afraid? Pfft, no I would never..." Adora huffed tilting her head in an offended way. She earned a laugh and an amused headshake in response when she took the Jedi's hand and was heaved back onto the grassy ground.

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Bow came over, shouldering his strange crossbow-like weapon and shaking Adora's hand in greeting before asking, "What's your name by the way?" The girl didn't know if it was a good idea to reveal her name but even though she was still suspicious she answered, "It's Adora... Thanks again for the help back there," she pointed the direction with her thumb, "Wouldn't have made it without it." He nodded, the corners of his mouth still turned upwards. Then he turned around to the Jedi apprentice, waving at her to come over. She looked at him with a scowl before making her way towards the small group.

"Adora meet Glimmer, Glimmer meet Adora," he explained with joy, choosing not to notice her arrogant attitude towards the Sith.   
"Hello," she said, her voice so cold it sent a shiver down Adora's spine. "Uhm, hello back...?"   
The Jedi eyed the two with an eyebrow raised before stepping in to say, "And I am Micah, pleased to meet you."

The blonde smiled, even though he was supposed to be her enemy she found a liking in him. His positive energy was something she had only encountered once in her life and that in a person very close to her.   
"It's Master Micah for most of the people around here but you can just call me Micah," he said and shrugged, the cape hanging down his back mirroring the movement. The sentence earned him another scowl from Glimmer, her attitude still not changing at all.

Adora laughed but the sound died in her throat as she remembered the gnawing question that burned on her soul. With a timid look into his eyes, she asked the Jedi, "Why are you helping me...?"   
He hesitated, the same look of worry like in the hut glowing in his dark eyes.   
"That's an appropriate question...one I won't answer just now. How about we patch up that cut of yours and sit down somewhere in private to discuss it, hm?"


	10. Trails of the Past

The way back to the village felt shorter than what Adora had walked to her wreck. They passed a large savanna with lots of strange animals the blonde had never seen before. Even a river slithered through the even terrain, its pink color outmatching anything she had ever seen. Weird giant dragonflies flew across the open water, their wings buzzing loudly but calming as they walked by. One of them came nearer and stopped in mid-air, seemingly inspecting the Sith's blue eyes with their thousand small ones in curiosity.

"What are they?" she asked after extending an arm for the visitor to land on which it immediately did. Master Micah turned around, a little grin playing with the edges of his mouth. "They are chroma-wings as we call them. I think you understand why we do that." Adora took another look at the shimmering wings of the creature on her arm, it's weight slowly weighing her limb down and making it ache. "Mhm, they're beautiful..."

The Jedi looked like he couldn't help himself but smile warmhearted, "They are, indeed. Even though the one you're holding is a little smaller than its brothers and sisters." The chroma-wing didn't seem to like the term "small" used on it, its head turning towards Micah and an annoyed hum leaving its small almost invisible mouth. He raised an eyebrow before folding his hands together and giving the creature a small bow, "I'm sorry for my rudeness, may your life be long and the force be with you." It glared at him once more before wagging its wings and slowly lifting off into the air with a long humming of its wings, the light being reflected in every direction as the chroma-wing sped away over the pink riverside.

"They understand us?" Adora asked, confusion marking her eyes and mind, her blue orbs looking for an answer in the ones of her opposites. Questioning the obvious earned her an eye roll from Glimmer and a short laugh from Bow. The boy turned around, "Of course they do. We've got some friends back at the village who refused to turn into chroma's, I think you'll meet them soon." A goofy grin spread across her lips, even though she wasn't used to the unexpected kindness of her saviors she felt as if this was very close to home, not the Empire but real home before everything hard started. Her heart was banging against her ribs, reminding her of the one person she had left behind.

"Where are we going? And more importantly, when are we gonna arrive? I need some answers back here," the blonde expressed and threw her arms into the air in helplessness. Her annoyed yet not rude questions finally got the attention of Glimmer, who, regardless of her apparent despise against the Empire and its representatives, smiled for the first time of this day.   
"We're heading over to one of our favorite bars I suppose. There we have some space for... whatever Dad wants to tell you."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The city's boundaries were so fluid it was impossible to determine where the savanna started and where the city ended, houses just started to sprout of the ground like trees. What Adora had assumed to be a small village had just been the outskirts of a real city, even landing bays for massive cargo ships found their way in between the metal buildings piercing the sky. The blonde was surprised at how she had not seen them earlier.

"I must've hit my head pretty hard I guess...", she mumbled, Glimmer smirking together with Bow and Master Micah at the disbelief of their visitor. They wandered along the streets, rivers of people trying to get to work, home, or just to the next pub streamed their way, making it hard to get through as quickly as the four had thought. Yet it was nothing compared to Dromund Kaas, there the masses of people had been tenfold and the night sky had been replaced with the ever glistening, never sleeping lights of the skyscrapers sometimes reaching into outer orbit.

"We're here," Micah said as he pointed towards a small door just around a corner. A dark alleyway lead to it, making it almost invisible for the eyes of walking by people. Glimmer has said they needed privacy; this was the perfect place.   
"Uhm, this looks like the place you'd take your enemy to only to stab them..." Adora noted and squirmed in uneasiness. Micah laughed while his daughter turned around with an amused smirk, "Well, you can never know, right?" The blonde scowled but she knew if she wanted to hear the truth, she had to follow her saviors. With her teeth gritted, she walked behind the group, keeping her head low without taking her guard off.

"Micah!" a deep voice boomed the second they entered the bar. It looked like a standard cantina like it could be found in any space haven, a circular white and beige bar table with all sorts of drinks stored behind it stood in the middle of the room. Several niches lined the walls, some of them having curtains close the view on the visitors inside. A large creature, almost as tall as a human, stood behind the bar, blue, almost purple fur covered its worm-like body on top while several arms lined its bottom.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Ca'dar, how nice to see you still running this filthy hole!" the Jedi Master yelled back with joy before walking over to the sentient creature and shaking two of its hands. Glimmer and Bow did the same, Adora however hesitated. When the gazes of the group fell on her, she squirmed underneath their looks. Something was still stopping her from trusting the Jedis and their companions, old wrath and the bound pain still throbbing somewhere deep within her bowels. The brunette boy took her shoulder as the atmosphere tensed around them and lead her closer to the others.

"And this is Adora, Adora meet Ca'dar. He's one of the friends I told you about earlier at the lake," he explained. The Ruurian extended one of his hands, "Nice to meet you, I guess you have met some of my brothers and sisters from Bow's description?"   
His hand was warm, his skin softer and more vulnerable than human skin, yet elegant and graceful. The Sith took it and slowly replied, "Yeah...yeah, the chroma-wings..."

The Ruurian laughed and pulled his hand back before shrugging with all his remaining limbs at once, creating a spectacular play of unity as he did. "Yes yes, they might not talk as I do but they have the advantage of looking... a little more inviting. But don't worry, I don't bite. Most of the time." Micah gave the barkeeper a soft punch before laughing, making even the intimidated blonde giggle in amusement. Bow and Glimmer just shook their heads with a smirk, the pink Jedi however still keeping a close eye on their visitor without her noticing.

"Are you here for the fun of it or... for special appointments?" the local asked the Jedi master, his multifaceted eyes throwing a glance at Adora's lightsaber blinkering around her waist. It looked like he was somewhat squinting the large orbs, trying to read the strange and ancient language of the Sith, not able to withstand their immense mystery and the story behind the words. The blonde quickly covered the weapon with her hand, evoking a small shiver from the bar owner as if he knew what she was.

Micah simply nodded, earning the same response from their host who simply said, "You know the way," and squeezed a large key into the man's hand. Bronze shimmered out of his palm as the artificial light of the room was reflected into Adora's eyes. Before she could ask what it meant, the Jedi slipped a few credits out of his pocket and exchanged them with Ca'dar, then he signaled the three to follow him with a short gesture. "Let's see what this is all about then," the blonde sighed and did as she was asked, her heart beating as if it was about to burst.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A large door blocked the way onward, its metal surface glistening with dark paint. Adora knew this metal, the beauty of its dark arteries running through it. Mandalorian iron, the most valuable and toughest alloy, dense enough to even withstand lightsaber blades and big laser cannons. Whatever laid ahead, this chamber had been to protect it from the outside... or protect the outside from what was inside.

"Ladies first," the Jedi said, gracefully extending an arm towards the inside for the Sith to enter. She looked him in the eyes, even using the force to read snippets of his mind but she felt no resistance. He let her read them, making sure she knew his intentions were pure. With one last insecure shrug, Adora entered the room. A couple of well-cushioned chairs stood around a table, the light of a hanging lamp shining onto a plate loaded with food and other exotic deliciousness. How anyone had had the chance to put it there, she did not know but her stomach did not care. Within seconds, she was sitting at the table, loading her dinner plate with every meal in reach.

She had taken the first bite off her flatbread when the others settled down. Glimmer didn't seem to approve of her quick reaction as she sneered at the Sith when her eyes fell upon the loaded plate before Adora, most of the dishes almost being assimilated into a giant mix of tastes and colors. However, her hunger took over, leaving the glare run off her mind and body like dewdrops falling off leaves.

After a couple of minutes of feasting, silence rose upon the room. Like a lead lid, it entombed them, dimming their mood and even the scarce light inside the chamber. The young Sith gulped down the last bite of the cooked Gorak in her mouth, the taste suddenly changing to the stale aroma of Styropor. Master Micah laid down his fork and knife with a soft clatter before resting his eyes on his visitor. There was something hidden deep inside them, a pain of immeasurable extent, something Adora could have used against him if she would have had to.

"I think I have to explain myself," he began, his hands folded in front of his face with his fingertips touching in the middle, "You are probably wondering why I saved you, a... _Sith._ And you have all reason to do so, but like many things in life, the answer to why I acted as I did is far-fetched from simple. Did you ever hear of the tragedy of Jedi Master Del'ag?"

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A look of confusion entered Adora's eyes as she heard this name, it sounded distantly familiar, as if she had heard it somewhere already. Even something that felt like the picture of a man's face slithered by her mind, one she had pushed away for far too long. She took a short sip of the sweet drink in front of here before saying, "Nope, not that I can think of it." The Sith trainee tried to focus on the thoughts rushing through her head but it was like trying to catch a living fish with your bare hands, they slipped away every time she thought them in her grasp.

Bow and Glimmer looked at each other, it was bluntly obvious they knew something the blonde didn't; a light of knowledge hiding behind their irises. Micah continued, his eyes still dwelling on Adora's, "I thought not, it is not a story the Sith would tell you. He was a very kind man, always there for a little joke, never angry or even annoyed. Del'ag was a member of the Jedi council, yet he wasn't the fondest supporter of it. His wisdom and intellect combined with the sheer strength he could show with just a couple of sentences made him one of the greatest Jedi of all time.

Everything has a beginning and an end. Master Del'ag's methods and theories about the ways of the force didn't apply to the Jedi, nor the Sith. His talent in controlling both the dark and the light side made him a powerful companion and an outcast from every side as well. He trained a single apprentice, showed him every single bit of his knowledge of the force before he went into hiding. He had found someone in his time in the temple, a fellow Jedi master who shared his ideology. She fell in love with him, and he fell in love with her, making them even more of an outcast for their mutual attachment to each other. Both of them changed their names in an attempt to hide their location and identity in case anyone would want to use them for their purpose.

They had a single child, a girl they raised in their small cottage just at the edge of the colony's capital. Time flew by and the child showed great potential in the force, making hiding it almost impossible. And one day, they were inevitably discovered. Their town was bombed to ashes, the inhabitants slaughtered and the children were taken to serve as cannon fodder."

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He stopped, giving Adora a single cautious glance, the same pain struck in his eyes as she held her head in her hands. This story, seemed so real, so painfully close yet she didn't want to accept it. Now the faces in her head finally took a physical form, a persona she had endeared for so long. She shook her head, slow painful rage making her clench her fist. "What are you saying?"

Micah stood up, kneeling next to her chair and putting his warm palm on the blonde's shoulder. "Adora, we both know what I am talking about. I don't know what the Empire taught you about the death of your parents and who they were but... Del'ag was your father. He and your mother died as the Sith assaulted his colony in the fear they could be discovered by him. They took you in and trained you-"

 ** _"Lies!"_** , Adora yelled hot tears streamed over her cheeks as she shoved the Jedi back with the force, the invisible barrier throwing him into a nearby wall. With a single swift action, she pulled out her saber, igniting the hot blade in an instant. Bow pulled out his rifle, his eyes filled with pure fear while Glimmer ignited her weapon, a deep indigo, almost purple blade of energy emerging from a short yet graceful hilt that seemed perfectly sized for her palm. The Sith was too enraged and desperate to even care. With a single motion, she picked up her chair with the power of her will and catapulted it towards the Padawan, buying her time to run towards the door and exit the room while the girl was distracted.

The world around her blurred into a single fluid picture of indefinable colors as she ran through the bar, her lightsaber still burning in her hand, pulling every bystander's eye on the red blade, evoking one or the other cry of fear. Wiping away the tears on her face she tried to push away the pictures of the past dwelling on her mind, but it was impossible. Finally, after all these years she understood why the Empire had been there to take her in, a weak child, something that screamed contradiction in their philosophy. She saw the stinging red emblem of the Sith scream down at her from a burning sky, filled with the rain of bombs and the screams of innocents. And as she raised her head towards the sky she was standing beneath, a loud boom shook the ground. The black shadow of a star destroyer suddenly towered above her, the ship still steaming slightly as it came out of hyperspace. Catra had arrived.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait peeps, I was having difficulties with my Laptop and - even worse - writing block! That's why this chapter is a bit longer than it should have been and I apologize for it! Next time I promise I will make it shorter yet more meaningful!


	11. Paths Reunite

The town flew by like a racing storm as Adora charged towards the levitating fortress. She caught the distinct glistening of a light Sith Interceptor being launched from one of the opened hangars, its jet of blue fire propelling it forward with top speed. A feeling of tension laid on her body, not just from the terrible thoughts she had just gone through but from the recognizing of a nearing presence burning with its indelible determination and burning anticipation. It was almost like she could hear her voice cracking in her mind as the blonde imagined her reunion with Catra, a small tear that had set in the corner of her eye ever since she had escaped the cantina rolling down her roughened cheek.

"Adora!" She flinched at the sudden outcry from behind her. Micah's voice parted the air in his way, out of breath and filled with the same pain the blonde had noticed at the start of this massive disaster. The Jedi was a couple of street corners behind her but gained ground as the Sith trainee hesitated. Thoughts of her memories from back when her village was destroyed flooded her mind once again, a pained shake of her head following as she tried to push them away. Still unable to accept what she was seeing, she raised her clenched hand, the burning red blade unfolding once again. Adora hadn't even noticed she had closed it after leaving the cantina, but it didn't matter now.

"Stay back!" the blonde yelled, the people around her backing away as they saw the red saber and the symbol of the Empire on the girl's back, the scent of their fear filling the air. Micah stopped just a few feet away from her, panting slightly before he took another step forward until there was less than a finger wide space between his neck and the lightsaber. It would have been so easy for Adora to kill him, a simple step forward or a casual swing would have been enough. However, she couldn't, the mix of her feelings was too much of a barrier for her to overcome.

"Adora, listen to me," the Jedi said, his eyes meeting her's in a moment of absolute silence, even the people around the two were too stunned to do anything.

"I know you are scared and confused but-" he tried to start before his voice was cut short by the Sith's early response, "No, I won't listen! All you are trying to do is to make me turn my back on my home, my family!"

The man's response was calm despite her open anger, a voice of reason in the ripping tides of a flood of hate.

"Your family? Have you ever questioned this new family of yours and gotten a straight response? I doubt you ever did. I can understand your situation but you have to think reasonably for just one moment. Everything I have said is true and I can feel that you know it. Don't do this, stay with us and we'll help you to find out the truth."

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A light shaking went through the entirety of the girl's body, her head hurting with the mass of information being thrown at her; what should she do now? Staying here would mean abandoning the Empire... abandoning Catra but going back would mean she might be manipulated against her will, just like Micah had said. With a flick of her wrist that made the Jedi flinch she sheathed her weapon and gave him a pained look.

"I can't stay here, not now..." The man nodded and stepped forward, his right hand disappearing in a pocket of his robe and pulling out a small silver device, wires sticking out from its bottom as if it was an unfinished piece of technology. His warm hand took hers and put the equally warm object into Adora's palm, closing it afterward. She shot him a confused glance before he stood upright again and answered her unspoken question.

"This is a long-range intercom Bow has been experimenting with. It's encrypted for all other frequencies so no one will be able to listen to us. Please consider your choice, your allegiance lies in the wrong place. Contact me when you... change your mind, okay?"

The Sith studied his face, unsuccessfully trying to find any evidence of bad intentions before taking a look at the intercom in her hand. It didn't seem to be very sturdy, yet she didn't think it wasn't up to the task.

"I...I'll think about it..." she stuttered, slipping it into her pocket before turning to go. She stopped one more time, turned around to take a last look at Micah, and the two shaped of Glimmer and Bow storming through the alleyway behind him.

The blonde almost whispered, "Thank you, Master Micah..." before backing off and running towards the Interceptor landing outside the city boundaries once again, her heart aching with conflicting emotions and thoughts.

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The grass was soft as she ran over the thin sprouts, her feet trampling them down in a hurry. She couldn't wait to finally see the woman of her life again, so much time had parted them and even if it was just a day, it had been more than enough to hurt. Adora slowed down as the Interceptor attempted its landing, the engines and blasts of heat from the turbines throwing up dirt and loose leaves lying on the even ground. It was like all of a sudden, fall had arrived, yellow and orange leaves slowly drifting to the ground in a blur of colors and light. A smile settled on the blonde's face as she tried to spot the orange jumpsuit of her feline friend through the cockpit window, yet the dark glass didn't allow her to do so.

With a low thud, the spacecraft hit the ground, a soft shake going through the soil as the metal burrowed itself into the muddy plain. As if she was mind-controlled, Adora's feet started walking towards the giant hatch in the back, her head empty. The creaking of the suspensions shifting under the weight of the passengers reached her ears and it seemed like someone with hard shoes - or nails - was running her direction over the metal inner of the ship. The girl's heart skipped a beat.

The hatch opened up without a single sound of metal gliding over metal, the perfectly made engineering making the gears shift smoothly with little physical contact. Before it was even halfway down, Adora could already feel Catra's presence, the never-resting, often conflicted aura of her friend being the only thing she would never be able to forget. A low squeal followed the hatch opening until, with a final amused and excited growl, the dark shape of a feline jumping towards the blonde was visible. The world spun around, the sky shifted to a full-frontal view with the green and blue eyes of Catra forming an entire galaxy full of adoration, love, and loyalty.

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"Adora!" she shouted and laughed in Ecstasy, her voice filled with the extreme happiness that her friend was feeling as she rolled onto the ground. The soil was somewhat hard but all the feelings that were racing through the Sith trainee's heart made it worth the little blue spot on her back she felt was already forming.

"Catra I-" the blonde attempted to say but she had barely even started to talk when her friend took her cheeks, squeezing them and fumbling around the bandage still covering parts of her head.

"Are you okay? Please tell me you didn't get any brain damage, oh Shadow Weaver's gonna kill meee-" Catra mumbled, Adora seeing worry take the place of what had just been pure delight.

She giggled and pushed her soft hand away, "Catra stop! I'm not brain-damaged, just a little beat up."

The feline attempted to take another look on the bandage on her best friend's forehead, getting her hand swatted away softly with a dry laugh.

"You sure you're fine?" she asked, standing up from Adora's chest and wagging her tail slowly and carefully. The sun behind her outlined her strong yet elegant silhouette with a fiery ring as if she had just descended from the heavens to rescue her mere mortal self.

"Well I am now," she responded, a small blush forming on both of their cheeks as Adora extended her hand to take Catra's, heaving her back off the uncomfortable ground. A couple of soldiers exited the spacecraft, rifles ready, armor glistening but with one gesture of the feline's hand, they lowered the weapons and took position next to the entrance, forming a small alleyway for the two Sith to walk through. Even though Adora was thankful to finally be back, a slightly sour taste remained in her mouth, she would ask questions she never had before, maybe changing her future forever.

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"So, wanna tell me what happened down there?"

Adora flinched as she was ripped out of her thoughts, her head jerking up abruptly. The feline next to her raised an eyebrow before saying, "You okay there blondie?" Her look changed to open worry as she saw her friend shivering, the girl remembering her recent discovery. Catra lifted herself, quickly strolling over to one of the small cargo rooms and returning with a soft blanket seconds later. With a quiet, almost silent purr, she tucked the cloth around the girl, warmth immediately spreading around the blonde as she did.

"Hey, it's gonna be alright, I'm here," the tan-skinned feline voiced and slid over to lean against Adora's shoulder. The Sith trainee smiled, mixed feelings still surging through her already hurting head. Sliding the blanket off her shoulders, she took Catra into her arms, earning a louder purr filled with adoration. They both fell silent, enjoying the moment before Adora finally said, "The world is a piece of shit, isn't it?"

Catra in her arms giggled, her tail powerlessly slapping her friend on the shoulder, "I thought we both knew that."

The blonde tensed up, again thinking back to what had happened so many years ago. Startled, the feline sat up, looking deep into Adora's eyes and asking, "What happened to you...? Sure you're not brain-damaged?"

"Oh shut up about my head you jerk!" the girl screeched and slapped Catra playfully, almost pushing the brunette off her seat. Settling down with a grin exposing her little fangs, she got back to the core of the topic, "Jokes aside, Adora you know I'm here for you. What happened that you're so jumpy and lost in thought?"

Adora's mouth opened, no words leaving it before clasping her jaws back together again. She was worried, was telling her friend the truth about what she had found out the right decision? and even if she did, there was no way knowing how the feline would react. Maybe she'd simple think Adora had gotten a hard hit to the head and gone insane, maybe she'd simply deny it, fight it off because she had been brainwashed just as much as the blonde had been; but what if she believed her friend, would she trust the Jedi enough to run off with them?

"Adora, you're doing it again," Catra snapped the blonde out of it, interrupting her thoughts and looking even more worried than before. At this moment, Adora made a choice.

"I...I just felt so hopeless, you know? Losing you was...it just..." she stuttered, real feelings of sorrow flooding her heart. Technically it wasn't a lie, but keeping the other, almost as important information from the feline hurt as much as being separated from her. She couldn't just claim something she had just been told by a stranger, one that had been on the side of evil since a small kid... or at least that was what the Empire had taught her. There was no proof of his claims, Adora would interrogate Shadow Weaver when she got the chance, then, only then she could tell her friend what had happened.

"Aw come on, I'm here now," Catra whispered, pressing her lips on the blonde's warm cheek, blushing as she did. The girl smiled, softly pressing the tanned feline to her chest and enjoying her body vibrating with purrs. She closed her eyes, focusing on the good things in life. Just like everything light has a shadow, the worry remained in her heart, like a dark bubble ready to burst.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaaand guess what, I didn't upload for another shit ton of days. Sorry for that one guys, but this time I'll be more active since I have found a way more comfortable way of transporting my stuff around with me. Stay tuned for more updates on my favorite two love birds!


	12. Returned

Adora woke up as the rumbling of the engines tuned out and a small shake went through the ship. Rubbing her eyes, the girl yawned, raising her arms into the air and arching her back until she felt the relieving plop of the bubbles in between her aching bones. She turned to look upon the sleeping form of Catra right next to her, a soft smile parting her lips as she did. The feline's chest was still rising and falling slowly, a look of peacefulness on her face indicating she was having a nice dream...for once.

There had been some nights in which Adora had woken up to her friend winding and growling on the floor, clawing at an invisible enemy with tears in her eyes. The girl knew Catra had some serious traumata, the loss of her parents had impacted her on a longer-term than it had the blonde. At least once a month she'd have to take care of a completely and utterly depressed kitten. Thankful for her friend's peace, the blonde carefully lifted her blanket and stood up. She tucked the warm cloth around Catra, earning a purr in response as she was enveloped in warmth.

The upper deck was almost empty, the only person strolling around was the pilot in his black uniform, his eyes following the blonde's way after a short bow. Adora did not mind him very much, a warm gust of wind distracted her from the wandering silhouette towards the opened cargo hatch. She was greeted with a second, more violent wind, hot and sticky like a desert storm during summer. The Sith trainee scratched her head, where the hell was she? With a confused look back to where Catra was lying, she stepped out of the landed craft.

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It felt like the burning flames of hell had enveloped the girl, red dust being whipped around through the hot air like wisps of fire. Korriban looked like it had been abandoned for centuries when she looked towards the scorching deserts of the barren planet, yet one turn of her head revealed the shining steel complex with the dark red banners of the Empire all over it. It towered above her, massive spires of cold metal piercing the clouded sky. Occasional booms of thunder ripped through the air, making the atmosphere even gloomier than it already was. The entry to the Sith complex was blocked by a giant door, dark streaks of plasteel engraved into its lower section, and trails of black shadows seemingly gathering at the base.

Adora strolled towards the entrance, looking for the panel to open it or a camera to announce her arrival. She found it hiding behind in a small niche in one of the walls next to the door, a silver console with different kinds of flashing lights. Even though the blonde had no idea what all of them were meant for, she quietly read the crude letters of the Sith language in search of anything that would open up the facility. 

After a couple of seconds, her glance wandered over the words "Anga Dury" in Sith. Her brain quickly processed the information, translating it to "Open Door" within a moment. She pressed it and a low shuddering went through the platform beneath her as metal slid over metal to reveal the brightly lighted corridors of the building. With a last deep breath, the trainee took all of her willpower together and entered. Behind her, the door closed silently, entombing her inside the facility belonging to a nation that had adopted her, a family that had accepted her, and a circle she suddenly could not trust. 

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Catra opened her still sleepy eyes with a loud groan. Sloppily raising her arm she turned over to wake up her friend. The first thing she found was warm and empty space where the blonde should have sat, the second was the fact that someone had made her a giant blanket burrito. She smiled as she realized that only one person would have cared enough to tuck in the blanket after leaving, Adora was perfect. 

Quickly unwrapping the blanket from around her body, the feline bent her back and yawned, a small stuttering mew itching the back of her throat. Her gaze wandered around the empty room in front of her, trying to find Adora's presence before she noticed the eerie silence. No engines, no slight rumble of the ship still traveling. Why they had taken the small Interceptor instead of the giant Star Destroyer was still a riddle to her but the brunette didn't care too much about it. She figured they had landed at their destination, guessing by the warm winds around her this wasn't the interior of a command ship, neither the one of a hangar in Droomund Kaas. Giving her head a last confused scratch, Catra stood up and strolled towards the exit of the spacecraft.

Like it had been with Adora, the feline was just as impressed by the chaotic beauty of Korriban's landscape. After a long stare towards the seemingly endless horizon, she turned to face the steel complex with its metal door blocking her way. Trusting her instincts, Catra turned towards the righthand side of the wall, looking for the tablet to open it. When she found it, a simple press of the button made the entrance slide open, revealing the red carpet leading to the inside.

"Well, if I wasn't alone I'd probably joke about red carpets but eh, nevermind," she mumbled with a smirk before rounding the corner into the dimly lit doorway. Not minding the closing door behind her, she followed the hall, looking left and right into more hallways leading to different areas of the building. Some of them were marked with symbols, revealing what awaited her if she went that way, barracks, toilets, the cantina. Since the brunette knew Adora in all her facets, she knew where the blonde would head to calm down. With a grin, Catra took a turn towards the training compound.

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"Oho, whom do I spot with my eyes?" the feline teased as she entered the room, immediately spotting Adora beating the living hell out of one of the boxing bags. The blonde had taken off her jacket, leaving her in the white shirt underneath. Catra's eyes wandered up and down her body for one second too long as the girl turned around and said, "Apparently something you like!"

"Oh shut up you dumb jock." Catra approached her friend and playfully slapped her shoulder, earing a low shriek from the blonde. She laughed out and wiped off the sweat forming on her forehead. Adora looked even more beautiful when she was exhausted, her hair slightly messed up and her cheeks reddened, the feline couldn't take her eyes off the person she adored more than anything. Heat rose to her face when her friend smiled and pointed towards a rack with a couple of training sabers lying inside. 

"When you're already here staring at me like I was a mouse you want to pounce on, you can make yourself useful too. Wanna go for a round?" she asked with a competitive grin parting her lips. The feline extended her hand, using the force to propel two of the wooden sticks into her hands. "If you want an ass-beating that hard, I will gladly give it to you. Go ahead and wipe that smirk off your face before I do it for ya," Catra explained with a giant evil grin on her face as she saw a short second of hesitation in Adora's movement before she said,  
"So confident you're gonna win? Let me prove that this smirk is here for a reason." 

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The first strike arrived without warning. A hollow yet loud wham of the wooden sticks slamming into each other echoed through the entire room, the force behind them unrestrained and boiling with eagerness. Catra grinned as she exchanged another strike with her blonde friend, one of her training weapons whirring towards Adora's unprotected arm, only to be greeted with her swift defensive. Pearls of sweat started appearing in both of their foreheads as the fight raged on, seconds passed, then minutes, then a quarter of an hour. 

"Growing weaker, eh?" the feline asked as one of her strikes found flesh, swiping the front of the other trainee's shin in a failed attempt to hit her hip. "Oh no, I've still got more than plenty of fighting left in me to get done with you," Adora exclaimed between clenched teeth, following her words with a violent offensive strike on Catra; she squealed as the warmed up wood connected with the light fur of her shoulder, sending the stinging of pain down her arm. Her grin suddenly refaced on her friend's face as her own slowly died, the speed of their weapons quickly growing until all they could see were brown arcs parting the air as they raced through the room.

The wages of their fight seemed to shift with every minute, once Adora had the upper-hand, once her feline friend seemed to carry away the victory. Yet, both of them grew weaker by the second, their power slowly being drained from their arms. Catra felt how she lost control as Adora pushed on once more, leaving a burning red spot on the left of her rib cage. She knew this fight was about to be over, and she would not be the winner if she kept going like this. A vicious grin parted her lips as she said, "You know I'll win you dumb jock, go on and run like a Jedi, will ya?"

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The words hit harder than any seismic charge could have ever had. Adora's eyes widened as suppressed memories flooded her mind, images of her and Catra playing in the dust in front of her parent's house. It was just a split second of hesitation but it was more than enough of an opening for Catra to strike. All the air was pressed out of her lungs as both of the feline's training weapons hit her chest, only slightly deflected by her wooden blade. It was this brief moment of the sticks touching that saved her bones from cracking, the ache running down her entire spine as the blonde stumbled backward, losing her balance entirely. 

With a thud, she landed on the mattress on the ground, a wince leaving her mouth as pressure was put on her ribs.   
"Oh, fu-" Catra yelled, worry, and regret bluntly audible in her words. The blonde closed her eyes and took a long breath in between her still clenched teeth, trying to press past the pain pulsating through her front. She felt how the mattress next to her shifted as Catra rushed to her side, dropping her sticks in a hurry before laying her hands on the part of her friend's ribs she had hit. If Adora had been a dog, her howl would have scared the feline immediately.

"Dammit, I didn't- Are you okay?" she asked again, her eyes filled with worry as she looked down at her panting friend. The blonde raised herself onto her elbows, patting the hand on her rib with a pained smile, "Fine, fine, I'm fine." Catra did not seem very convinced, yet she backed away and helped Adora to her feet. 

"Woah, I knew this would get a rise out of you but I didn't know it'd be that bad-" the feline explained, slipping her arm beneath Adora's, helping her to keep her balance on the soft ground. They made their way over the room towards a little bench with the blonde's jacket already lying there, settling down with a groan. Catra eyed her friend suspiciously.

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"Adora, why do I feel like you aren't telling me everything that happened down there? I've never seen you act like this!" Adora's gaze wandered towards the ground, why in the world did Catra have to make this so hard? Keeping a secret was hard enough but being interrogated all the time didn't make it any easier. Despite her aching side, she raised her hand and thumped the feline in the shoulder, "Hey, I'm fine, for real. I just... found something I have to ask Shadow Weaver about." A spark of darkness in Catra's eyes hushed past before being replaced with curiosity.  
"What would be so secret that you wouldn't tell your best friend about, hm? C'mon, give me a hint or something."

With her heart aching, the blonde laughed, "Lord, Catra relax, it's nothing that'll rip the universe apart. Just a minor detail about my new technique and if it's compliant with the Codex." The feline squinted her eyes before shrugging, "Fair enough. Do you need some pain killers? That looks painful." Her finger pointed towards Adora's injury with her face still filled by worry and her eyes darting between her friend's face and her side. She shook her head and stood up, pushing past the pain with a smile. "Nah, I'm good. I don't need my head to be clouded up again. Now come on, let's get some food from the cafeteria, I heard they have cooked fish today." 

The feline's eyes widened with joy as she hopped onto the warm floor and followed her blonde friend towards the dining room. Adora's mind wasn't thinking about food, however, she was focused on the indecisive battle of her feelings, on the pain that arose in her chest whenever she lied to her dearest friend. She had to get over this, as fast as possible...


	13. Shatter the World (Part One)

Her eyes opened with a gasp, shadowy pictures of the previous day still haunting the blonde's dream-filled psyche. It was soon in the morning, the red light from the outside shone into the dark room with its two hastily set up mattresses, one of them being untouched as usual. Adora smiled as her gaze fell onto the curled up silhouette of her best friend on the other end of her bed, quick but regular little snores leaving the feline's slightly opened mouth. The whole world seemed so small, so comfortable when they were alone. No worries interrupted the peaceful silence around the two... well, at least they had until now. Like a dark cloud, they hung overhead, unseen yet ever-present with their coppery stench filling the air. Today was the day Shadow Weaver would arrive at the new headquarters again to take a look at her lost apprentice. Today was the day Adora would look upon her master and somewhat mother figure with new eyes, new glasses that might either obscure or better her vision on the world. Today she would demand the truth.

"Mrrow?" the confused voice of Catra sounded from the blonde's bedside as she turned around to take a look at the one item she had not given a single thought since all of this had started. The glow of the Holocron seemed to be less intense than she had in memory, yet it still intrigued the young Sith apprentice. A small rumble went through the bed as the brunette hopped over the rolled-up blankets to Adora's side.   
"Good morning blondie, did ya have a good time sleeping like a dead guy?" she asked, the corners of her mouth turned upwards and her eyes sparkling with renewed energy. Adora snickered, "More or less, since you were the one who murdered me yesterday." The feline made a sour face, crossing her arms in front of her chest, "Aw come on, I told you I'm sorry for your rib, I didn't wanna hurt you but you let your guard down!"

"Oh just shut up kitty cat," her friend responded, kicking the other girl off the mattress and earning an amused yelp as she hit the floor. Quickly jumping back to her spot at Adora's side, Catra studied the object in her friend's hands. "It still didn't do anything, huh?" she asked as she poked the pyramid with one of her claws slightly extended. A sigh went through the blonde as she admitted, "No, all it did was... well I think it followed me into my ship." She interrupted Catra as she felt her laughter building up and sensing her intents though the force, "No! Do not say brain damage again!" The feline giggled, her mane wiggling in the tune of her body, "You got me there."

Shaking her head with a smile, Adora lifted herself from the mattress and used the force to grab her utility belt from across the room. While she did so, Catra quickly claimed the bed for herself, stealing the blanket and pulling it over her head before her friend had the chance to let the entirety of the light inside.  
"Come on Catra, nap time is over! We have to get ready before you know who arrives, she won't be pleased if we didn't do anything to prepare." The girl underneath the covers groaned, her tail jerking back and forth, "You could have left that detail out and this day would have turned out to be somewhat decent. Can't Shadow Weaver just leave us alone for a few days?" The blonde shook her head, "Last time she did we had to survive on our own on an uninhabited planet... You know how that went-" Catra shivered, "If I ever see a Kowakian monkey-lizard in my life again I am going to torch the whole planet it's on." Another grin spread across her friend's face as she pulled away the covers, "Totally with you on that one. C'mon now, let's get this over with.

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The clouds hung low with the faint sound of thunder echoing over the large desert as they stepped out of the steel complex. Even though they were on a barren and mostly arid planet, the air around them felt like miniature spikes of cold were trying to get through their skin in the early hours of the morning. Catra crossed her arms in front of her chest, the cold easily getting to her through her thin clothing and the open space down her shoulders. The blonde next to her regarded her with a cautious glance before quickly closing the space between them as she noticed the small shivers running down the feline's body.

"Hey, you good?" she asked, earning a soft look from her friend, "I'm fine, it's just so damn cold out here... Isn't it supposed to be extremely hot? I mean look at this planet, it's dry as hell!" Adora smiled, "I hear you. But hey, I doubt we're going to stick around for long, Shadow Weaver isn't the person to give us a break."

The feline squinted her eyes at the name of her master, her fists clenching, "Urgh, please stop mentioning her name, Adora. I'm not in the mood to see her stupid masked face right now." Her friend responded with a slight smile and a shake of her head. Yes, Shadow Weaver wasn't the most pleasant person to be around but it was a necessary evil to finally get independent...Or that was what she had always believed. It was so troubling, nothing she had ever put her trust into had been twisted and contorted into something she didn't know how to regard. For now, she would not do anything stupid, keeping a cool head to get behind the truth seemed like the only logical plan there was.

"Oh no, get the fanfares, here she comes," the brunette feline grumbled with a sarcasm-ridden voice as the clouds parted over the barren scorched ground of the planet's surface, making way for the black and dark red painted yet glistening hull of the Sith master's Interceptor. The first crimson sparks of light from the rising sun made the air around the craft glimmer with heat, Adora's breath stopped for just a second as she took in the menacing beauty before her. Next to the blonde, Catra squirmed around before slowly backing off behind her friend as the craft started to slow down, extending its landing gear as it hovered over the platform they were standing on. And with a last thundering thud, the ship set foot onto the steel, the hatch on its back opening to reveal the cardinal color of Shadow Weaver standing in the shadows.

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"My my, welcome back Adora. I hope your time off was... not too troubling." Shadow Weaver glided down the ramp to the platform, the corners of her dress sliding along and pulling gloom behind them. The Sith master regarded her blonde pupil first, patting the girl's face with care and attention before giving her feline apprentice a simple hate-filled glare that spread cold through the air even though the Sith's eyes remained hidden behind her mask. A growl left her concealed lips as she said, "Looks like you finally did something right, Catra. A shame, I already thought of a new method to punish you... However, you two have earned yourself some rest," she turned to face Adora and her voice softened immediately, "Especially you, my dear. Thanks to you we were able to conquer Ruuria on the spot without significant casualties. Now the population will finally be properly judged and governed by the Empire. You are allowed to assign yourself tasks for this day, train at your own will."

Adora's eyes slowly wandered to the ground as she tried to get all of her willpower together to ask the burning questions on her soul. Her master looked at her intensely, "I feel you are being troubled by something my apprentice. Go ahead, ask." The blonde looked up again, studied the patterns of overlapping shades of red, white and black on the facial covers of the person who had taught her everything about the force. "I...I wanted to ask something about... about my parents," the girl finally squeezed out. 

At her side, Catra's eyes widened, her mouth open to the brim with shock. The blonde's heart was banging on the inside of her chest, trying to cope with the intense fear she was experiencing. She had been afraid so many times before but then she had been able to use the emotion to her favor, now it was like the cards of the universe were stacked against her. Shadow Weaver's back tensed up for a split second before she said, "Go ahead, ask." Adora's mind started racing, how could she find out the truth without asking the obvious. She couldn't just ask if the Empire had been behind the killing of her parents, which would have fatal consequences she did not dare to think of.

"Are there... Are there any recordings of what happened?" she stuttered after an awkward silence that filled the air with tension. Her master seemed to sigh internally, sending a low shiver down Adora's spine, "Of course Adora, there are plenty of recordings in our archives. Feel free to let them fuel your hatred, most of the data should have already been transmitted here. But remember, don't solely rely on only this memory, it will make you vulnerable." She gave the girl one last glance, one filled with suspicion as well as caution before Shadow Weaver ordered, "Now off you go. Enjoy the time you have been given, tomorrow we return on schedule."

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Once back inside, Catra pulled her friend aside. When Adora looked into the feline's eyes. There was darkness deep down her normally so vivid orbs, a force that was hard to contain and the blonde knew, this beast's slumber should never be disturbed or it would consume her friend forever.   
"What the hell was that back there??" she exclaimed with anger and betrayal in her voice, "You never lie to me! We made an oath, remember? You'll always be there for me and I will always be there for you. We don't keep secrets from each other, you promised!" The blonde raised her hands, "Woah there Catra, calm down. Look I didn't want to worry y-"

"Bullshit! I want the truth, why didn't you tell me?? You know that this is a matter we are both involved with, what concerns the death of your parents concerns the death of mine!" Adora's heart skipped a beat when she realized how much withdrawing this information from her friend had hurt the brunette. Her gentle touch of the feline's arm sent a violent shiver down Catra's back before she gave into the move. The blonde lowered her friend's hand and gripped it tightly, hidden in the shadows of a nearby column.   
"Look Catra, I'm sorry, I was just- I didn't know how you'd react. I know how much you still think about them, how much pain you carry along with yourself..." she explained, putting her other hand on the feline's shoulder, close to her neck. She flinched at first, not yet introduced to the sudden feeling of warmth in her chest.

Her gaze fell to the ground as she whispered, "Just... just why Adora...?" The blonde's chest was filled with immediate burning pain as she realized that she'd have to lie again. It was unsure the story she had heard was true, mentioning the Jedi would put so much salt on the wound it would rip apart their friendship and everything they had worked for with so much stress. "I met some people who claimed to know my parents... Their story doesn't match with what we've been told-" she explained, stopping before she could reveal how much she had witnessed and remembered. Catra looked up again, her eyes locking with the blonde's. "How much of it?" "They... they claimed they were friends with the Republic."

The feline waited for a few seconds, searching her friend's eyes for any evidence she was lying. Technically Adora wasn't lying, just keeping some details unspoken so there was nothing to find. Catra sighed before replying in a weak snarl, "That doesn't change anything. Promise me you will never lie to me again." Adora's heart turned upside down, her heart rate rising into well beyond what she was accustomed to. And then, she decided something she would forever look back to.

She stepped forward, lifted her hand to the back of Catra's mane, drowning in the feeling of her soft hair before she leaned down and let her lips touch the other girl's. The brief contact of their skin was enough to send lightning down her entire body, making her insides melt at the intense feeling of having someone enter her life in this particular way. Her friend gasped, yet instead of pulling away, she leaned into it, enjoying the closeness and warmth of their touch. Adora's eyes remained close until she pulled away, seeing the feline's eyes sparkle with joy, passion, and surprise.

"I promise," Adora voiced, the words almost less than a whisper, "Let's keep this our little secret, shall we?" All Catra managed was a silent nod, her eyes and mouth still wide open with surprise. Before she could say anything however, the low sound of cloth slithering down the corridor they had come out from reached their ears. Their master rounded the corner, muttering something to herself before disappearing from view behind the next corner.   
"I-" Catra gulped down and quietly touched her lips, "I think we should get going-" "Good idea, before she notices we aren't where we are supposed to be," the blonde answered and took her friend's hand to pull her towards the library with her heart still fluttering like a trapped bird.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh boi, this will sting...


	14. Shatter the World (Part Two)

When the two reached the library, still panting from their time running down the spiraling corridors, they stopped dead in their tracks. This room was smaller than the one Droomund Kaas' library was housed in, yet the library here was far more beautiful than the one on their old homeworld. The Korribanian shelves were stacked to the top of the ceiling, their blue glow filling the entire space around with its calm presence. It was as if they had walked out of the desert straight into oceanic depths, time seemed to pass slower here than anywhere else.

"Wow I- I think we're at the right address," Adora whispered, her eyes sparkling with excitement as she let her gaze wander around the vast knowledge stored in plain sight. "Adora, I don't think we could have missed it," Catra responded without lowering her voice, immediately earning herself a deadly glare from the librarian standing between the shelves that made her flinch and grin dumbfounded. The blonde next to her simply shook her head before pulling her friend aside into one of the rows, closing the line of sight between the entryway and their backs before their master could enter the room. 

"Alright, what are we looking for?" the feline asked after having freed herself from Adora's grip with an excited yet somewhat annoyed look on her face. The Sith apprentice next to her scratched the back of her head, thinking back to all these times she had been thinking about home - if she could call it that anymore. She examined the data disks stored to her left, the letter B towering high above their heads, "Anything related to Belkadan, maybe we find the recordings of the bombing if there are any."

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Shadow Weaver had not lied. There were massive amounts of information jampacked onto the tiny disks in the archives concerning Belkadan, many of them being reports from Imperial agents stationed on the planet to control its government, a change Adora had regarded as righteous and good for many years. Now with all the data in front of her, she began searching through the details, every single word seemed to have a new meaning behind her newly constructed glasses. Since the time she and Catra had been orphaned, many things had changed. Next to the skeleton government, the planet had become quiet, few transmissions ever left its surface and the last bits of trading were starting to cause significant problems to the economy there. "This is just a mess," she concluded silently in her mind before opening the next data disk on her holographic screen.

"Hey Adora, I think I've got something here," Catra whispered as she bumped her elbow into her side with a soft motion. Clearing her already washed up sight with a pinch to the bridge of her nose and a quick massage of her temples, Adora glanced over to her friend's terminal. On it, a picture of a small village appeared, instantly throwing both of them back in time. Their old home looked peaceful, happy so to say but she knew this wouldn't stay that way. The sentence beneath stated the time and purpose of the recording:

**_1303 ABK, Bombing of Belkadan by Galactic Republic Forces_ **

The blonde's heart skipped a beat. This was what she was looking for. "Is that just a picture or a recording as a whole?" she voiced and pointed at a small rectangular shape in one of the screen's corners. Her feline friend raised an eyebrow, replying with an annoyed tone, "Well duh, yeah it's a recording. But what does that have to do with your parents being allied with the Republic?" 

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Adora squirmed. Catra knew how to catch her off guard, this was a question she had not expected. "Uhhhh, it's complicated-", she stuttered out, catching another flame of hidden rage behind her friend's glowing orbs, its low flicker barely controlled by her calm. "Adora... I know when you're lying, we just talked about it a few hours ago," she said, a hint of deep disappointment sneaking its way into her voice. The blonde was barely able to look her in the eyes, it was all the more painful to admit she had been keeping a secret after what they had shared recently.

"Look Catra, I swear that it's nothing important-", she explained, Catra cut her off before the girl could wind her way out of the situation, "Alright, now listen. I am going back to the exercise area right now until you finally decide to cut out the bullshit and tell me what's wrong. See you later, have fun with all of this crap." Before the blonde could do anything against it, the feline had pushed back her chair and stomped off towards the entrance. Adora wanted to yell at her to wait but her voice resisted the attempt to be used. Seeing her friend leave the library, the Sith apprentice's mind raced to fix what she'd just done.

"Shit, how do I make up with her again?" she thought, staring at the spot Catra had just sat on. Though it took her a few minutes, a plan started forming in the back of her mind. With a quick grab, she snatched the comlink residing on a small elastic band around the belt on her hips, adjusting the device to fit the frequency she needed. She knew the clicks and turns to reach her squad, yet remembered their stations today. Lonnie and Rogelio would be on active duty patrolling the outskirts of the academy at the time, so the only choice would be the equally blonde yet less reliable Kyle. The boy was the sloppiest, most ridiculous yet nice guy on the team, with Rogelio following right after. "Well," Adora told herself, "As long as he doesn't drop it, it should be fine."

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"Adora to Kyle, you there buddy?" she asked in a low voice. A short moment of silence was followed by the sound of a metal hollow object tumbling to the floor on the other side of the device, then a short squeal before the boy's half-stifled voice answered, "Here's Kyle, what's up Adora?" The girl shook her head with a grin, "Nothing to be honest. What did you drop there though?" What followed was a short pressed laugh, "N- Nothing important, I swear!" "Dammit Kyle, where are you?" the girl asked, a laugh intertwining with her words as she pictured her squadmate standing next to a dented device of mass destruction. "I'm in- Uhm, I'm in the armory to be exact." "Sorting duty?" He snickered at the Sith trainee's teasing undertone, "Yep, I just finished stacking up the new shipment of armor. Most of it, I mean."

Adora cheered quietly, crossing her fingers as she said, "That's perfect, do you have a moment to do me a favor?" There wasn't even a moment of hesitation when Kyle replied, "Of course, what do you need?"   
Quickly explaining what had happened without revealing too many details, the blonde sent him to get a few ration bars from the cantina. He seemed to approve of her attempt to apologize to Catra before quickly ending the conversation to avoid any lines in front of the distribution, seeing how dinner time was about to commence. Adora stored the device back on her belt, her finger gently touching the encoded comlink the Jedi had given her. Now was not the time, she still hadn't found any proof that what he had been saying was the truth or just an attempt to deceive the blonde.

She turned towards the holographic projection in front of her, looking for the symbol she had discovered earlier. It had not moved an inch, still sitting in the same corner and tempting her to press it. Adora's finger trembled slightly as she raised her hand, inches parted her from the knowledge that might or might not change her entire life forever. Hesitant, she followed her intuition, lowering her finger onto the invisible button with blood rushing through her ears like an enormous waterfall.

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Her old home village looked peaceful, people wandered the small streets. The video itself seemed to have been recorded from an elevated position, maybe the security camera of a landing platform that had been recording on that day. A day that would always dwell on Adora's mind, the scars she had earned that day would never heal fully. However, she tried not to think about it too much. What she was looking for was the attack itself. At first, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. The people continued to mind their own business until the first people started looking up to the sky, covering their eyes with a hand to avoid the stinging sun above their heads. It took several seconds for them to realize what was happening, they started screaming and pointing towards something high up above. Then, the first explosion went off.

The camera was shaken in its holdings, violently thrown left and right as debris rained down several meters away. An orange ball of fire engulfed everything in its path, consuming everything that stood in its way. Screams echoed off the walls that surrounded the location but they were all drowned when the rain of fire intensified. Multiple bombers crossed the top half of the screen, all of them painted in the same orange and white colors that were reminiscent of Republic airforces. And with each new one appearing on the recording, Adora's faith in the seemingly nice Jedi started to dwindle.

"Goddamn liar-" she whispered with fury in her voice, thinking back to the conversation she had with the mysterious man, how much it had hurt. Was all of it just a hoax; manipulation? Doubt started nagging on the inside of her chest, her veins suddenly filled with burning cold poison. She repeated the video, finding no changes of the material she had witnessed already. The blonde's fist was clutched tight, her nails dug into the soft flesh underneath. Adora was about to pull out the data disk as something attracted her attention from the corner of her eye. A short, yet noticeable flash of black light, hidden like a toothpick inside a mountain of hay. The girl frowned, stopping her hand from touching the disk in its holding before focusing back on the screen.

The third time she pressed the play button, her eyes fixed on the point that had seemed out of place. It reappeared just as the slaughter of innocent families was about to unravel in its full gruesome scenery, a dot of black that did not belong that high into the air, no way any debris could have flown that high. Pausing the video, the Sith trainee slowly returned to the timestamp. When her finger reached it, her blood grew even colder, not from the feeling of being lied to, but the feeling of having been betrayed. It was a single frame, a small picture almost invisible to the common eye. Yet, the image was clear enough.

Adora was speechless as she stared at the burning red symbol of the Empire branded on the indelible shape of an extinction-class bomber.


	15. End of the Line

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I know. I am dumb! I didn't upload on either May the 4th, nor Revenge of the 5th. I'll just be omw- [self-whipping sounds in the off]

Minutes later, Adora was on her feet storming towards her quarters. Her eyes were trained on the red carpet below her feet, staring holes into it that seemed to reach into the boiling core of Korriban. She could feel the dark energy of hatred pulsate around herself, the rage and anger bottled up so long ago was trying to resurface in a fiery explosion. The blonde knew a little spark could light it, and if it did, there would be no return from the dark side.

The burning in her chest just intensified as the girl's thoughts went back to the hundreds of hours worth of training, the years she and Catra had spent as apprentices, acolytes, put through several cruel inhumane tasks to finally reach the goal they had been promised. A goal that had always been nothing more than a lie, an illusion to control their strong emotions and bundle it against the false image of a destructive and merciless enemy. Her entire life had been a lie. Adora's feet on the ground started to quicken their pace, unbound of her control as the shock started to settle in.

With her head hurting and her body going after its mind, the blonde did not notice the small hunched up figure of a soldier in an off-duty outfit sitting on a stone bench close to the sleeping quarters. In his hands, a giant block of ration bars was resting on a platter, the words "I'm sorry" carved into the soft creamy surface. When Adora stormed by, the figure quickly rose to its feet, floppily trying to save the makeshift cake from toppling over. So, just before turning the corner to her private quarters, the blonde heard the soldier's footsteps right behind herself. With sudden fear clenching her heart, she spun around with her hand ready to shoot towards the glistening hilt of her saber.

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"Wow, wow! Calm down Adora, it's me, Kyle!" the boy squealed and flinched, ready to take a strike of boiling plasma. The blonde Sith took a second to realize what was going on before she relaxed and grinned flabbergasted, "Oh uh, sorry Kyle. I...was a little lost there-" With a look of worry in his eyes and his arms still raised in defense, he slowly calmed and asked, "Is everything okay? You look like someone put too much salt in your food."

"What? Noooo, everything's fine, totally fine!" Adora exclaimed, quickly crossing her arms in front of her chest. A sole pearl of sweat started forming on her forehead, she could feel it slowly making its way down her already singing hot skin. Kyle was not the smartest soldier you could find in this base, nevermind on this planet, but even he could sense something was wrong and that increased the blonde's worry tenfold. She couldn't blow her cover now, but if she did, Shadow Weaver would surely have some kind of procedure to make her obedient once again. Catra had to suffer through it so many times already, always coming back with this expression of utter hopelessness and pain on her face. It had hurt every time to hear what the feline had endured, yet the fear of being in her place had always dwelt deep in the back of her mind.

"Uhm, okay? If you say so," Kyle said before presenting the makeshift cake in his arms, "Here you go, I may have to steal something to eat from Lonnie and Rogelio for the next few weeks but helping you two is worth it."   
A smile snuck its way onto the blonde Sith's face as she took the platter, examining the letters drafted on top of it. She had wanted to give this to Catra immediately but with her newest discovery, it would have to wait for a little while longer. Adora nodded thankfully, "Thank you, Kyle. You are a lifesaver." With a last smile and a pat on the Sith trainee's shoulder, the soldier turned around, "A squad holds together, right?" 

The words sent a javelin through her heart. This was her family, her home. She had been raised alongside these people, trained, and fought with them. Yet she could not stay. The Empire went over the bodies of the innocent to achieve their goals, the recording she had seen would certainly not be the only one of this kind. It hurt to think about how she would have to abandon everything she had built up here... but maybe, just maybe, she would be able to convince Catra to leave together. 

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With a loud bang, the door behind her closed shut, sending a light breeze through the dimly lit room. Silently, she put down the cake onto a small stool next to Catra's bed before standing in the middle of the room, staring at the blank wall facing her. A second passed, then a minute, silence coursing through the entire space. Then, Adora's knees buckled underneath her weight, unable to comprehend the shock her brain was going through. And even though the blonde would have liked to, no tears came streaming down her face. She did not know what to feel else than emptiness, the sadness, anger, and betrayal all clumping together in a giant lump inside her chest, making it hard to breathe without feeling pain.

"What... what do I do now?" she whispered to herself, folding her arms around herself to feel some sort of comfort. With her entire world shattered like the glass of a mirror, there was little reason to stay here. Funny how everything had unraveled, how her entire life had started to crack away like old paint slowly detaching from a wall, slowly showing the cold ugly material underneath. Cold claws of despair seemed to reach right into her mind, gripping it tight like prey. Would she ever be able to escape the Empire's clutches? Even if she joined Micah and his apprentice, the Empire would be after her. After all, she had a vast knowledge of the operations conducted on Republican grounds. 

Grabbing the bedsheet right next to her, the blonde tried to make room for her growing emotions, tried to disperse the despair slowly building up inside her throat. She pulled as hard as she could until she heard the ripping of cloth echoing off the walls. The entire room seemed to close in on her, slowly suffocating the last seed of hope she had left. Adora closed her eyes in a last attempt to think of something that might help her out of this situation, once again reaching downwards to find something she could grab ahold of. This time, instead of finding the warm soft sheets covering her mattress, her palm closed around a cold, metal object. 

The sudden change in temperature made her gasp out loud in surprise. It was like hundreds of needles piercing her skin at the same time, violently gaining access to her body heat. She recoiled, ripping open her eyelids and staring at what had distracted her from the yelling inside her chest. Red light radiated from the Holocron as it simply sat there, inanimate and silent yet it felt like the pyramid wanted to tell her something, reveal a secret she needed to know now and there. 

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"Okay, Uhm," Adora stuttered as she picked up the pulsating object. The room around her seemed to feel different, not as harmonic as it had been before. It felt like some other, otherworldly presence warped the force flowing through her body, distorting it into a complex weave that seemed to be neither dark nor light in appearance. A sudden urge to close her eyes and meditate gripped hold of the apprentice's mind. It was strong, yet not violent, more like a sweet whisper telling her what to do. She felt calmness slowly replacing the despair that had rooted deep within her bowels, making her feel somewhat light around her chest.

"Is this what you want me to do...?" she asked aloud, immediately cursing her stupidity afterward. The Holocron wasn't a living being, it was a metal fiber and glass construct made to contain the knowledge of the Sith that had long passed in their conquest for power. Yet it acted like it was actively trying to show her something, to help her in her moment of weakness. Adora shook her head, this was stupid. She would probably just waste time with this but... something told her the opposite at the same time. The sun in front of her window was slowly starting to decline as she placed the pyramid onto the carpet, the aperture casting long thin shadows onto the floor.

The blonde closed her eyes, channeling her deepest fears, her deepest desires, and pain to connect to the dark side. Meditation was something she had always been comfortable with, it took her little time to find the point of balance she was seeking. With one hand she reached out to touch the tip of the Holocron, feeling the force flow through it and herself. 

"Peace is a lie, there is only passion.  
Through passion, I gain strength.  
Through strength, I gain power.  
Through power, I gain victory.  
Through victory, my chains are broken.  
The force shall free me."

The ancient words seemed to change something on the inside of Adora's closed eyelids. At first, it was just a slight flickering, nothing more but white and black flashes overlapping the darkness. Then, after a few seconds, the flashes intensified. They unleashed an almost painful storm of flickering images, some of them without any sense, some of them known to the Sith. One of them seemed to be the most important, the stuttering lightning repeating itself more often than all the others. A thick fog seemed to build up around Adora as she reached out to it in her mind, slowly draining her from her sight. She was about to give up on it, almost opened her eyes, and pulled back from the device when she saw it: The dark walls of Shadow Weaver's private quarters.

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Adora looked around. She was standing in the middle of the room, her shadow being cast onto a big circle drawn onto the floor. Unnaturally deep red light illuminated the entire scene, seemingly appearing out of nowhere. Pulsating letters covered certain parts of the circle, ancient Sith letters she was only partially able to read. Some of them seemed to say her name, which sent a shiver down her spine. What was this godforsaken place?

Before she could investigate further, the slithering of cloth on the floor made her perk up. Her deepest instincts told her to run, to hide, or do something that would prevent her master from seeing her skulking around. Adora whipped around, frantically searching for a way to disappear but the only thing she could see was the empty circle she was standing in. Or not so empty after all. Shadows, silhouettes shrouded in thick black robes sat around the entire shape, quietly humming verses in a language the blonde did not understand. 

"Aha!" the dark master's voice sounded behind her, making her flinch so violently her hair poof was almost thrown out of its holding. Her heart was beating so quickly she thought it would explode as she turned around to meet Shadow Weaver, expecting the woman to punish her for disturbing her privacy. Her gaze landed on the crimson red of her master's robes, heading straight towards her... before walking right through her. Adora gasped in relief, this was not the kind of vision that involved her as an active part of it. Once again she turned around to watch what was going on around her.

Shadow Weaver stopped right next to the middle of the circle, just a few meters farther away from where Adora was standing. Her hand disappeared in her robes for a short moment, before retreating with a small blinking holographic projector in her palm. With a flick of her finger, the projection of the back of a large, throne-like seat popped up. The blonde covered her mouth in shock as a deep voice asked, "Is everything in place for the next operations?" She recognized it from the few recordings she had heard, never did the young Sith think she would hear his voice in person. 

"Yes, my emperor, we have brought all the strategic core planets under our control," Shadow Weaver answered with pride filling her voice. The emperor took a second of silence, Adora could feel how he nodded, most likely with a grim smirk on his face. "Good, good! My plan is unfolding, soon, the galaxy will be ours again. However, you have requested a meeting due to... _complications_ with one of your apprentices. You may speak."

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Adora's heart froze over. Was this what the Holocron was trying to show her? And most importantly, what did Shadow Weaver know about her discoveries? A cold sweat broke out on her forehead as she listened to her master say, "Yes, Adora. She's been acting suspiciously since we picked her up from Ruuria. I have a strange feeling that the reports of Jedi in the region have something to do with it." It felt like the world underneath her feet started to spin out of control, this could not be happening. She should never have asked, never made her master suspicious. 

The emperor's voice sounded once more, "What do you mean by that?" "Adora was abducted after we disposed of evidence on Belkadan. The Jedi master Del'ag and his wife Laureen were investigating our operations on the planet before we wiped them out. She is their daughter. I have been training her ever since then and she has shown raw strength, a strength that can overcome mine for sure. I fear she has met the Jedi on Ruuria and learned something about the real fate of her parents. I have allowed her access to the censored files, so-"  
"You have what? Why would you give her access to data after discovering she might be compromised?" an angry shout interrupted the dark lord's explanation.

Shadow Weaver immediately went down on her knee, intimidated by the raw hatred in the emperor's voice, "My lord, my other... apprentice, Catra, she would have asked questions had I initiated protocol blackout before she had seen the information. But now is the time to lead her back onto the right path." A short second of silence followed her words, "I see. Proceed with your actions. Wipe her mind and this topic shall be considered as done. Next time, I want you to react quicker, you risked an important part of the operation simply because of one of your apprentices asked questions. Dismissed."

His voice burned with disgust as the hologram flickered out of existence, leaving the silently smoldering Shadow Weaver standing in the middle of her circle. Adora was frozen in shock. This circle, it was the preparation for a ritual. A ritual to wipe her mind and make her continue her conquest for the Empire. She needed to get out of here, fast. Yet, something, a silent whisper, held her back. 

The dark Sith master's hand clenched together in anger until the sound of bending metal and splintering glass teacher the blonde's ears. Shaking with this strong, unforgiving emotion, Shadow Weaver called out to a couple of the shrouded figures, "Get Adora here, now. She was last seen in her room-" She stopped, mid-sentence. A creeping suspicion entered Adora's mind as she saw her master scanning the room around herself. Then, as if she knew her apprentice was standing there, her eyes latched onto the spot she was standing in. Her mask revealed more than any words could have, anger, despair, and surprise. With a loud shriek, she stormed off herself, running towards the door faster than the blonde has ever seen her move. 

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It was then when she was ripped out of her trance, flinching so violently that the stool the freshly made cake for Catra stood on was toppled over, spilling the contents of the plate all over the floor. The only thing still visible were the words "I'm sorry", severely misshapen yet still readable. However, it did not matter to Adora, her heart was beating so fast that her mind needed an additional second to process what she had just seen. And the only thought entering her mind was, "I have to get out of here, now."


	16. Left Behind

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just came back from watching the final season... well, to be exact, I've come back from a one-hour weeping session because it was so beautiful. I've written this just now and I don't know if I'll ever live up to the standards of this series but...I try my best :') Anyway, I hope you enjoy this slightly longer chapter.

"Stupid Adora and her constant secretiveness," Catra grumbled as she picked up the wooden sticks from the training rack. She could not believe her friend would exclude her from something as important as this. Well, it would not change anything about their allegiance to the Empire, but knowing Adora's parents had been allies of the Republic, yet still slaughtered by them might just fire their rage and help both to reach their full potential in the dark side. And yet, she was keeping something from her. Why? The feline did not know, it made no sense. Everything had started after this stupid crash landing, which was in turn caused by Jedi scum. 

Shaking her head, Catra positioned herself in front of a training dummy. The low glistening of its black exterior caught her eye, the shape she was opposing seemed lifeless but it was easy for the Sith apprentice to imagine herself a new situation, paint her darkest fears into the room, and use them to her advantage. In her mind, she was standing in front of a Jedi knight over the boiling pits of a burning planet, obliterated by a prior orbital bombardment. Screams of the dying carried over the now plained city, only interrupted by the occasional flaring of an ion engine before explosions ripped the air apart as bombers swept over what remained of a once glorious empire. 

The faceless Jedi's blade ignited with a long hissing sound, almost matching one of Shadow Weaver's robes gliding over the polished floors of their harrower class star destroyer. Green plasma cast crawling shadows onto her burning face, hatred slowly crawling up in Catra's veins like venomous bugs. The rage inside her flared up like a bonfire. All she could think of was how Adora had always been the perfect child, the leader, the beloved acolyte. Shadow Weaver had always treated her with the same kind of strict love like a normal mother might have done, yet Catra had always been the outcast, left to pick up the scraps Adora left behind for her. She had always felt weak, exploited, and nothing more but a piece of plywood strapped to both Shadow Weaver and Adora's feet, weighing them down at all times. All the feline wanted was to show he was more than was expected of her, that she was stronger than all of them, finally, rise over her master and end this torturous path she had been walking down all of her life.

Her weapons slammed into the figure before she could even think about it, unleashing all the raw power she had been building up and directing it towards everything she hated. Normally, this helped her to overcome her anger towards anything but today it just made her angrier. Every strike weighed heavier than the last, until, with a loud crunching crash, one of the training sticks broke clean in half as it met the dummy. Time seemed to slow for just a second as Catra stared at the whole thing happening in amazement. The once straight form of the wood buckled, revealing more and more splinters as she continued to push it onto the surface of the dummy, unable to stop herself. By the time she was able to control the momentum of her swing, the broken part of her training weapon was dangling on a few last strands of stubborn tendon-like wood. The feline stared at the destruction in her hands. These sticks had been infused with the force, it was more than hard to break them in this state. Yet she had done it. 

"Now this is... weird," she exhaled and dropped the wooden wreck in her hands, leaving it clattering onto the mattress beneath. Catra was... shocked and creeped out but she felt... strong. Stronger than she had ever had. Stronger than what anyone expected her to be. She had destroyed something she had been told was indestructible, albeit it being just a training weapon. A small grin parted her lips, slowly growing wider until she smiled maliciously. It felt good to be strong. This was what she needed, but something was still missing, the approval of someone close to her. Sighing, she picked up the damaged equipment and threw it into a nearby bin, the painted back of it still protruding from the box.

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The alarms went off just when she was done with her shower. Her tail froze mid-air as she slipped into her clothes and the air was disrupted by the blaring of a soldier's voice yelling at his comrades to get onto stations.   
"What the hell?" she grumbled and grabbed a towel to finish drying her still somewhat messy hair. Violently scrubbing over the wet strands of her hair she rushed out of the room, throwing the cloth in her hands back in after arriving at the door. Catra looked around, crossing her arms in front of her chest and waiting for a trooper to come by and explain what was happening. Her wish was answered almost instantaneously as a squad of fully armored fighters rushed around a corner.

"Hey, you. What's happening here trooper?" she asked, squinting at the sight of his faceless mask. She hated the design of it, however, the Emperor knew that anyone opposing these featureless foes would be terrified, his psychological warfare was brutal but effective. The feline's mind flashed back to the destroyed ship full with negotiators yet she pushed it aside with difficulty to focus on the task at hand. The man turned around to face her, raising his straightened hand to the forehead of his mask in a salute before explaining, "We've had a breach, someone's been compromised and excommunicated. We're supposed to stop them from leaving the orbit-"  
"Who? Who's been compromised?" Catra interrupted him, a pearl of cold water stole its way down her back, sending chills all over her body. This was impossible, how could the Republic have set up a spy already, it was way too soon for something like this.

He shrugged, "I don't know, my squad is only here to man a battery of turbolasers in case they try to flee the surface." Catra nodded, silently dismissing the squad to go and do their job. She scratched her head as she saw the men disappearing behind the next corner, something felt strange. It was like the force inside of her mind had stopped communicating. She felt devoid of any feeling else than confusion, this day was getting weirder by the second. With a last sigh, she combed down the hair above her mask with a quick stroke of her hand before walking down the way to her and Adora's quarters. The anger inside her was still there but it wasn't as bad as before, it had diminished into a less serious case of being grumble. 

"Oh Adora, I swear to the ancient Sith rites if you're still breeding over that data I will-"  
She stopped in her tracks. The door to their quarters was slightly ajar, letting a thin strand of light escape the usually darkened room. Adora never left the door open and Catra remembered that she had closed it before they had left to meet Shadow Weaver at the landing platform. Hesitantly she reached for it. The knob was not completely devoid of any warmth, it felt like someone had touched it just a few minutes before. A loud groan escaped the hinges as the feline pulled the door open wide, only to be greeted by the unnaturally fresh air inside. The cold breeze streamed across her face, freezing the drops of water in the light fur there and making her shudder. The entire room was a mess. And when she saw the turned over table together with the smashed cake on the ground, she realized that not just anyone had been compromised. It was Adora.  
  
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Her fists clenched up hard until her mind yelped in agony.   
"I'm sorry?" she read out the letters on the cake. Looking around in the room she noticed how Adora had left her jacket, her favorite red jacket bearing the symbol of the Empire on its back lying next to an open air-duct. The edges of the metal were still smoldering from where she had used her lightsaber to slice it open like a tin can. And then, her emotions went crazy. She laughed. Laughed like she never had, maniacally with no idea why she was laughing. A voice in her mind said 'You don't know if it's her who was compromised, maybe someone just stole something in here and escaped through the vents!' but another, hate and grief-stricken voice just yelled over it 'Of course it's her, who are you kidding. She's been acting weird the entire time, hasn't told me anything about who patched her up, and why she wanted to know something about her parents from Shadow Weaver. She's been compromised. The. Entire. Time.'

Deep sorrow started boiling up in her chest. It felt like someone had just ripped out her heart and replaced it with a pot of boiling steel, all of her feelings falling into it and adding to the singing heat arising in this place. Everything had been a lie, Adora had lied to her... _used_ her; _manipulated_ her with her knowledge of Catra's feelings. Had she ever meant anything with the kiss they had shared...? Looking at the situation at hand, all she had done with it was twist the feline's mind her way so she wouldn't ask questions. She stepped inside the room, quietly closing the door behind herself as she unsheathed one of her sabers. 

Her voice exploded as she swung the weapon at everything in her reach, ripping gaps into the steel walls and splitting the little table in half and blackening the covers of their beds. She screamed as loud as she could, felt the anger take possession of her. Catra yelled profanities at the empty walls until her voice broke down into a whimper filled with sorrow and pain. The room was now nothing more than a battlefield, everything inside either slashed in two or charred by the hot plasma blade of the Sith's saber. Closing her lightsaber, the feline stared at the destruction, unable to process. Then, she sat down, still numb from all the feelings arising in her throat. She stayed there for a long time, she did not even notice when the sirens stopped blaring. Why stop her? Why capture the woman who she thought meant everything to her after revealing her true intentions? Catra wanted her gone. And she knew one thing. She. Did. Not. Want. Her. To. Return.

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Shadow Weaver found her apprentice in the same position, blankly staring at a slashed up wall with her hands cramped around the remains of a red jacket. The feline was pulled up to her feet without any regard to her racing feelings. Out of nowhere, her neck was grabbed by an invisible force, cutting her off from almost all the air she needed. Her master's stare was poisonous, filled with pure hatred and disappointment. "Where were you?!" she yelled, raising her clenched fist into the air, causing Catra's feet to lose their touch to the ground as she clawed at her throat, trying to get the grip around it off. The world around her pulsated as her heart tried to act against the sudden lack of oxygen, blood rising to her head and her sight failing her. Yet between short painful breaths, she answered, "I was at training, then I came here and stayed-"

"Why would you stay here while your compromised friend laid waste to the base in an attempt to escape?" she hissed, tightening the grip of the force around her apprentice's neck. For a short second, Catra thought she would pass out. Everything went dark and her body resisted any attempt to move before she was able to draw one more breath. Not only had her master just confirmed her deepest fear but it hurt to hear someone rub it under her nose. "What does it matter?? She left us- Left _me!_ She _used_ me, manipulated me, betrayed me! Why bring her back at all, let her leave so she never comes back!"

The grip around her neck tightened one more time, almost snapping her bones before it disappeared completely. Gasping for air, Catra fell to her knees, coughing and wheezing as the pain of her lungs subsided and her brain was finally able to recollect. Tears had filled her eyes as she had spoken, the sorrow taking over her mind completely as she thought about their relationship. Her master glared at her hunched up form on the ground, she could feel the dark Sith's derogatory pity piercing her back like spikes. 

Grabbing Catra's chin with her hand, Shadow Weaver bowed down and forced the feline's gaze onto her mask.  
"Oh no, both you and I know you are lying to yourself. You want her back, don't you? So do I, she's not lost yet, together, we can bring her back to the darkness. But you, you Catra, will bring her back to Korriban. In case you decide not to, well, in that case, you will suffer the consequences in her place. Have you understood?"  
She nodded, her eyes widened at the imagination of what punishment her master had prepared for Adora. "Good," the dark master exclaimed, "Your ship leaves in fifteen minutes. I have assigned you two of our finest battle droids should Adora decide to be... _uncooperative_."

Shadow Weaver turned around and floated out of the open door, letting is close on her way out. With the sound of metal colliding as it hit the frame, Catra wept. With what had she deserved all of this, why would Adora leave her...? Was she not good enough, even for her best friend and...lover? Had she ever been something like that or was the kiss only a tool to manipulate her? She was confused, heartbroken, and afraid. The universe did not seem to listen, even this vast collection of worlds seemed to have cast her out from their midst, abandoned her just like Adora had. For now, Shadow Weaver was right. Even though her rage was unbelievably big... she did not want Adora to leave her forever. And for the second time in short succession, she stepped out of her room, determined to bring back her friend, once and for all.


	17. On The Run

Three things in the galaxy were unbeatable in their difficulty, Adora determined. First, impress Shadow Weaver. A task no one was able to do, neither Catra nor Adora. Second, get your gear back after it gets stolen by a Kowakian monkey-lizard. She and her friend had been trying to get their only blaster back for three weeks before they were able to strike down the creature and reclaim their property. And third, last but not least, escape an orbital blockade over a Sith capital world. When the blonde had finally been able to breach through the endless streaks of red turbolaser blasts from the harrower-class cruisers her shields had been reduced to almost nothing more than a light blue shade barely able to deflect even a standard rifle blast. The fury-class interceptor she had stolen away from the landing platform had belonged to her master but she did not care. Looking at it in hindsight, it had been a good decision Adora had not even realized she had taken. With her master's ship gone she would have more time to escape without a furious Sith on her tail.

Her call with Micah and Glimmer had been short, just a quick exchange of coordinates, and the Jedi worrying for Adora's well-being. She had told him she was fine, only shaken up by the lies and deception she had lived with but that didn't even scratch the surface of how she was feeling. The blonde was broken inside. Not only had she been lead into the darkness with pretty much everything regarding her parents but she had been forced to leave her entire life behind. The vision the Holocron had given her had been real, and terrifyingly true as she soon had to learn as she heard the infuriated voice of her master coming closer to her quarters. In her fear, the only thing on her mind had been Catra and how she'd be alone without her but the threat had forced her to take the air duct over their quarters. She had abandoned the only person who mattered to her now. Knowing the feline, that would be more than just a small problem for both of them in the future. Yet, Adora was determined to come back for her, she only needed a plan, reinforcements, and a long night of sleep. 

The coordinates Micah had given her had led the former Sith apprentice into an asteroid field surrounding a nameless barren desert planet in the Gordian Reach. She knew why they had taken a planet this close to Korriban, both Galactic Republik and Sith Empire kept track of their ship movement. This spacecraft was even more valued than others since it contained the belongings of Shadow Weaver. After Adora had jumped into hyperspace her first instinct had been to check the board computer for its ability to check into the data of fleet movement but to no success. Her administrator rights had been erased quicker than she would have imagined. Instead, she opted for downloading the ship's log instead, it contained limited information about fleet movements and possible stronghold that could help Adora in the very likely case of having to bargain for her life. The second thing she did was to scavenge the quarters of her master. All she had found there were a few rolls of ancient Sith knowledge and a synthetic kyber crystal similar to her own stored away in a hidden compartment in the dark woman's drawer. 

Her motivation was at an all-time low when she entered the orbit of the world and spotted a glistening, chrome-plated light corvette.   
"You've got to be kidding me," she spat out in surprise as her gaze met the ship's appearance. _This_ was their understanding of stealth? The chrome plating would be seen from miles away without any tools needed to pick up its energy signature. It was like a supernova in midst of a starless dark space, bright, indelible, and visible through the entire galaxy. She shook her head in disbelief; this was starting _so_ great!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Adora!" Micah exclaimed happily when Adora walked down the ramp in the back of the ship, her arms still crossed in disbelief and skepticism, "You came! Glimmer was suspicious about you possibly sending a squadron of soldiers to us but I was right with my faith in you!"  
The blonde smiled through gritted tears as the man approached her and enveloped her in a gigantic hug. She squirmed in his arms, unable to enjoy this gesture of kindness with her fractured mind. Everything was so strange, it felt like she was in a dream and could snap out of it any second only to awaken next to Catra in their quarters back on their Harrower. All she wanted to be at inner peace, finally being able to rest her head on something and close her eyes in the knowledge she had done something right. 

Stepping away from the young woman, Micah quickly examined her for any injury, "Are you alright? Did they hurt you when you got discovered?" Adora, still shaken up and confused backed away before he could touch her again, "I'm fine... I'm fine. I just need a little time for myself." The Jedi nodded in understanding and pointed towards the ship behind him with his thumb. In the shadow of the lowered ramp leading into the interior of the ship, two silhouettes stood close next to each other, quietly watching the scene play out. Bow and Glimmer were whispering to each other, silently observing and studying Adora's features to determine her next move before she did it. The boy looked filled with joy and excitement while there was still a dark shade of mistrust in Glimmer's eyes. Adora could not blame her, she would have acted the same if it had been the other way around.

"We've prepared everything for you, new clothes, food, and your new quarters for the rest of the flight so you can get some rest. Glimmer and Bow will surely give you some company while we travel to Coruscant, they are great at raising one's mood!" he explained and grinned widely, showing his white teeth underneath. Once again, the blonde could not help herself but smile too, Micah was a big bundle of positivity... like Catra had mostly been. The thought of her friend made her flinch on the spot before replying, "Thank you, Micah. I...It's all just so confusing." The man looked at her with a worried gaze, once again reaching out to help her with physical contact but stopped as he remembered her unease before. "We'll have enough time to talk about everything once we're off the radar. And yes," he answered her unspoken question, "This ship is chrome for a reason. No one will expect refugees to travel in a luxury liner. Hiding plain sight so to speak!"

Adora, still skeptical of the plan, nodded in false understanding, crossing her arms around herself to feel less alone than she currently was. She had to go back for Catra, she would not last long with Shadow Weaver putting all of her focus on the feline. The pain of guilt flared up in her chest again, what if Catra would be the one to suffer in her place? Had she involuntarily made her friend's life a living hell? 

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Her thoughts were interrupted on the way to the ship as Glimmer's head jerked around to a console next to her, the low beeping faintly reaching Adora's ears as she came closer. The girl's eyes widened before rage took control of her features and contorted them into a mask of hatred.  
"I knew she would betray us, we have a ship incoming!" she riled and grasped for her saber, her hand stopping only centimeters from the hilt, held by the sudden force-grip of her father. She growled and ripped her arm away, barely keeping her emotions restrained to not attack their new companion. The blonde's eyes widened as she realized that her suspicion had been right, her ship had been tracked by the Empire and they would send a kill-squad to eradicate her knowledge. Micah turned to face her and he immediately saw the look in her eyes. 

"Is this your doing?" he asked, devoid of any strong emotion. "No! They must have tracked me from the beginning, please, believe me! They'll kill me or... or worse. I saw my master preparing a Sith ritual to erase my memories, I don't want to go back to her!" Adora yelled, panic taking over her body as she tried not to think about the humming cloaked figures around a red, glowing circle filled with ancient symbols. She closed her eyes, drawing in a deep breath to settle her emotions, trying to ban them from her system. Even though they fainted, they remained, hidden behind a frail veil that could burst open any moment again. Then she focused her eyes on the Jedi in front of her, determination in them like a lit campfire.  
"I will not go back to her. I will fight, and if it's the last thing I do."

Micah's eyes glowed at these words, "You remind me so much of your father, he would be proud of you." And before he could say anything else, the deafening boom of a ship emerging from hyperspace rippled the air, sending shockwaves through their bodies. The dark red painted hull of a Sith transport ship appeared in the skies above them, quickly losing altitude as it went into landing configuration. Adora recognized it as the standard transport that had been used to deploy normal soldiers on the surface of Korriban not long ago, she knew how many it could hold in its boxy hull. Yet, something about the way it was flown unsettled her. The abrupt yet precise way of piercing the atmosphere around the planet indicated a skilled pilot, but it was more than just skill. The craft had dodged the asteroids around the planet far too quickly for any sensor arrays to even react, the person piloting the ship was certainly strong in the force.

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Adora was the first one to unsheathe her lightsaber as the transport touched down, Glimmer and her father quickly following afterward. The girl positioned herself on the blonde's right, still somewhat skittish and nervous around the former Sith apprentice, while her father stood firmly on Adora's left. He had his eyes closed, his hands folded behind his back, holding the hilt of his saber. It looked like he was meditating, preparing for the fight up ahead. Adora herself was nervous, a small pearl of sweat forming on her forehead. Her mind always repeated the words she remembered from an old lullaby, "We must be strong, and we must be brave. We gotta find every bit of strength and never let it go," to calm herself but it was to little avail. 

Dust filled their eyes as the ramp was lowered, the heavy mechanism kicking up the sandy ground beneath like it was nothing more than a child's playground. A dim light flickered up inside, revealing the glistening chassis of two battle droids, standing in the shadows, waiting for someone's command. A few seconds passed but it felt like an eternity until someone emerged from their midst. The low "tap, tap, tap" of bare feet on metal was the first sound that reached her, then the grinding of steel as the droids followed their leader. And out of the shadows, a figure emerged. Her two-toned orange tank top looked messy as if someone had repeatedly scrunched it up before putting it back on her, all while her hetero-chromatic eyes trained on Adora's face with a look of fierce determination. Something in the corner of her eye seemed to have crusted over, dried tears.

Adora's heart dropped, stopped beating for more than a second. It was Catra, both of her sabers in hand and ready to strike down anything in her path. And she smiled, grimly exposing her two little fangs as she used her usual catchphrase on her friend.  
"Hey, Adora."


	18. Abandoned

"C-Catra?" Adora whispered, her voice being just loud enough to reach her friend's ears. Catra's eyes were trained on the blonde, focused, and determined. She wanted her back, back at her side. Yet, she had left her, abandoned her for... The feline stared at the two forms next to Adora. The girl with her pink dress and her excessive little accessories glistening in the light of the sun overhead, and the man standing to Adora's left, his eyes closed in meditation. A simple look at the deep blue, almost purple blade of the girl gave her the information she had to know about these people. Jedi. The rage in her heart felt like it was going to rip her apart, the sorrow and pain flooding her entire nervous system.

"Missed me? Well, I can certainly answer that question myself by the look of things. I see you've found yourself some new friends," Catra spat out, her hands flailing the air in anger. Was she jealous? Yes, and it hurt. It hurt more than any torture Shadow Weaver had ever put her through. It was a different kind of pain, the tingling numbness in her limbs cold like ice and hot like fire at the very same time. It felt like every single one of her brain cells wanted to burst free and spread her rage to everyone in her vicinity.   
"No, Catra that's not-"

The feline pushed her hands against her hips, a maniacal laugh escaping her throat and rippling through her body. She laughed even harder and more insane than she had when she had discovered the cake in their quarters.   
"Oh, Adora. You're such an idiot. Do you really think you can deceive me again? I'm done with your little games. Look at whom you're standing with here. Those are Jedi, they are our enemies! They killed our parents and-"  
Now it was Adora's time to interrupt her speech, from what Catra could see through the slowly settling desert dust she was hurt, visibly hurt. Did she care? The blonde deserved to feel what she'd done to her, she deserved to suffer for just a little more.

"Catra they never did! It was the Empire all along! The video you found, it's the clue, it shows Imperial bombers over our city! I bet they have deleted or censored it by now but please, you have to believe me!"  
The feline grinned at this weak try to make her believe in the Jedi's lies and their deception, "Oh, sure! Yeah, I'll believe you on the spot! Oh wait, you're cooperating with the enemy and have no evidence of your claims. Try again."  
Adora stepped forward, sheathing her saber again as she came closer, her eyes switching between the robot's glowing red sensors and Catra's pain-filled eyes.

"Listen to me. I wanted to come back with reinforcements to get you out of there, I swear. But these people showed me the truth, the Empire is the real enemy. My parents... they were Jedi. That's why I am sensitive to the force. You can come with me, it doesn't have to be like this. We could be happy, away from Shadow Weaver, and do something good. All you have to do is come with us...with me...I beg you." The blonde stepped onto the canted metal of the ramp until she was just a step away from Catra. Her hand reached for the feline's, gripping it close and firm while maintaining eye contact with her friend. There was so much hope and light in them, Catra was shocked how little her friend had changed on the outside.

"And what does that change?" she asked, still keeping her hand in Adora's. She just wanted to be back together with her but the Jedi were monsters, cruel false idols who had kept the galaxy in their grip for centuries. "The Empire is our home, it's everything we have. Even Shadow Weaver, we don't have to suffer her rule any longer. Together we can become stronger than she ever thought, together we can make things right again. We could be the ones calling the shots, we could rise over any expectation we have been given, make them all see how wrong they were. All _you_ need to do is come with _me_." The blonde's eyes changed from hopeful to filled with sorrow, "I can't go back there Catra. She would kill me or...or worse. And after what I've seen, I don't _want_ to go back to the Empire."

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Her world shook in its foundations. Catra heard one word that made her heart drop. Adora did not WANT to come back. She did not WANT to be reunited in their home. She did not want Catra. The feline squinted her eyes in anger, ripping her hand out of the warm palm of her friend and took a step back. She was shocked, hurt even more than she had thought. Her heart did not exist, it had been stolen by an unknown thief only to be melted down into a cold lump of metal.   
"You don't want to come back? Not even for me? I thought... I thought I meant something to you. I thought what we shared was something real, not a cruel way to manipulate me into following your plans. Looks like I was wrong. You have twenty seconds to get out of my sight. Go, and never come back."

The blonde staggered back, her eyes filled with panic but the spark of hope remained, this one spark nothing had ever been able to diminish. She tried to grab her hand again but Catra was prepared for it. Extending her claws, she scratched the girl's hand, not deeply yet hard enough to make her stumble backward. A look of pain filled her eyes as the feline yelled, "Don't you get it? I said leave! Traitor, liar, **monster!** You _used_ me! Get out of my sight before I let the droids escort you."  
"Catra please!-"  
"LEAVE!"

She ignited her crimson blades, filling the dark space around her with its pulsating light as tears of anger streamed down her cheeks and her chest was lifting heavily. Her friend opened her mouth but no sound came out of it, only silence. Catra did not care, she did not want to see her pretty face ever again, she never wanted to feel weak around anyone. Adora had been her weakness all along, she had been the one keeping her down. And she needed her gone. Finally, after another painful look in her eyes, the former Sith apprentice backed away, walking back towards the waiting cruiser and her new Jedi friends. She noticed just now that a low glint emerged from the inside of the ship, the reflection of light off a holographic sniper scope. The silhouette of a dark-skinned guy kneeled behind a crate inside the ship, holding what looked like a heavily modified Wookiee bowcaster. She looked him straight in the eyes, through his magnifying scope and she felt how he shuddered as she exposed her teeth in a threatening way.

"&%/&%Targets acquired, executing primary command/&%/&%" the automated and distorted voice of the droids sounded as Adora turned her back on Catra. The feline froze, she hadn't given them any command to attack. She had not given them any command to be exact. Nonetheless, both of them powered up and marched down the remaining length of the ramp, only to unleash fully automatic fire onto the four figures unaware of their attack.  
  
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The first bolt hit the outer hull of the light cruiser, scarring it with the burning plasma and sending sparks raining down onto Adora's back. A second shot was deflected by the quick action of the female Jedi, she was barely able to withstand the full power of the ion blast. Catra just stood there, watched the scene unfold. She felt nothing, her head and heart were devoid of any feelings. Not even her constant rage was able to reach her in her bubble of suffering. Everything seemed to play out in slowed time for the feline, this wasn't her doing. Those droids weren't hers, they were... Shadow Weaver's. She must have programmed some kind of failsafe into them should Catra disobey like she was doing right now. Yet, she did not stop them.

"Glimmer, get to the ship, now, I'll take care of them!" the male Jedi yelled at the girl, the way he said it made her reconsider their relationship, perhaps she was not just his apprentice but more than that. He stepped forward with his now burning green blade and deflected multiple blasts like it was nothing, kicking up the sand underneath his feet and making it increasingly hard to read his face. Adora had gotten aware of the danger, and she stared at Catra, pain deeply rooted in her eyes now... It made the feline's heart jump in her chest. No, these days were over, never would she let anyone into her heart as she had with Adora. Yet she was still afraid for her. Why?

Her cold stare and the lack of emotions inside of her broke when she saw one of the droids barely missing her old friend. The bolt rippled the air with heat just next to her arm as it passed, nothing more but the diameter of a single strand of hair in between her red jacket and the projectile. A sudden urge to run towards her arose in her feet, she had no control over it. However, the last straw broke for her when she saw how one of the plasma bolts impacted the sand right next to the blonde. The small but not insignificant blastwave following threw Adora off her feet and left her writhing in the sand. 

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Catra's fists clenched up as all the emotions blasted through her, all the anger she had towards her friend but also her own master. She was lost in her deep pool of emotions as she heard a cry of pure terror and pain from Adora. The feline looked at her again and saw what was happening. Her lightsaber laid far away from her, the ground she laid on scorched by the blast and her not too old injury on her knee exposed, showing a dark stripe on her usually light skin beneath the white cloth of her pants. Adora's concentration had been broken completely, too much had been going on for her and both of the droids mercilessly advanced, heating their guns to fire once again. 

Without thinking about her actions and the consequences that might follow, Catra reached out with the force. Both of the bots stopped in their tracks as rage pulsated through the Sith's body, her passion for protecting her friend still overcoming the dark thought of letting her die there and then. All it took her was to apply pressure on the metal chassis. She clenched her fist with all the might and strength she had left and felt the raw power she had felt in the training room once again taking control as the metal crumbled before her eyes. The screeching of cables being pulled apart and the droids being pressed into a shape they weren't meant to have sent shockwaves through her mind. She felt strong, stronger than ever. And all of that strength... was because of Adora.

When she released her grip on the battle droids, all that remained were two shining balls of metal, crudely crafted pieces of destructive art. The shivering form of Adora looked up in surprise, her eyes focusing on Catra's. She smiled in one last effort to thank her before Micah pulled her to her feet.   
"This is not because I like you," she mumbled, unheard by the blonde running into the ship's bowels. The feline was confused by her feelings. She wanted Adora to disappear from her life but... not like this. She did not want her dead, she just wanted her to disappear from the stage for a long, long time. When the sunlight engines of the corvette boosted the ship off the dusty surface of the planet, Catra still observed it. She could feel Adora looking at her, even through the inch-thick glass of the window on the starboard side of the craft. She felt how her eyes remained on her shape until it was smaller than an ant. Still shaken by her sudden outburst of emotions, the feline turned around and climbed up to the bridge of the troop transport. Adora was gone, the person who had used her as a tool had finally disappeared...but why did it not feel right?


	19. Sorrow

The injury on her leg did not sting, even as Micah pulled out a small jar of balm and applied it to the open flesh. She felt...nothing. Emptiness clouded her mind, unable to comprehend the words she had gotten from her best, closest friend. Catra had called her a monster, a name reserved for Shadow Weaver. Adora did not know how it could have come so far. She had wanted to come back for the feline, it had been on her mind the entire time but had she expected her to rush through a full orbital blockade head-on without a plan? A dull sting of guilt broke through the numbness as she sat down on a well-cushioned circular bench surrounding a white table. Was it her fault Catra now saw her as a manipulative demon who had stolen her heart just to break and use it? It had to be, her friend would never accuse her of such an intimate crime just because of jealousy, right? 

"Hey..." a low voice sounded from the hallway leading to the activity room the blonde was sitting in shortly after Micah left to initiate the hyperspace jump. It was soft, apologetic even when listened to carefully as if the person talking was trying to make a better impression. Adora lifted her head slightly to determine the source of the noise, small tears still building up in the corners of her eyes. The person standing in the light of the overhead lamps was not looking her in the eyes, she was staring at the ground. Glimmer had her hands folded in front of her chest, massaging them to hide her discomfort. A long silence arose, the blonde glaring at the Jedi apprentice who had not once showed her any sympathy, at least not any Adora had noticed.

"What do you want?" the fallen Sith apprentice asked weakly, returning to her former position with her hands wrapped around her head between her legs, "Do you want to taunt me a little more? I'm really not in the mood for that." She did not care about this girl, her father and master might have saved Adora from the wreckage but she doubted the sparkly apprentice had helped at all. Another voice answered, a little deeper but more comforting than regret-stricken than the one before, "We just wanted to make sure you were okay. That out there looked...hard for you." Lifting her head again the blonde's gaze swung to the boy, Bow, now standing next to his friend. He looked like he was seriously worried, and most importantly, he did not look scared or distrustful of Adora. Still, she needed some time alone in her thoughts, concentration to overcome the searing pain in her chest.

"Leave me alone, I don't need your stupid help," she growled and turned away from both of them, trying to shut their existence out of her mind. Silence was everything she wanted right now, just like loneliness. Catra's words repeated themselves the entire time and every time they started anew, the scratch marks on her hand stung like acid. She needed her friend, she wanted to hear her little giggle and feel her body close next to hers. However, Adora knew this was an impossible wish with the newest happenings, nonetheless, she was still confident of the feline's good heart and ability to overcome the years of abuse and brainwashing by their master. Shadow Weaver's plan had always been to toy with them until they were obedient, she had never intended them to get as close as they had been. The dark woman had manipulated them into sliding down two intertwined yet different paths in her conquest of power. And it hurt, more than anything in this world.

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When a hand touched her shoulder, Adora flinched so violently that Glimmer let out an echoing yelp before she jumped back, her hand close to her lightsaber. However, her features softened as she saw the dark streaks of tears on the blonde's cheeks. They had stolen their way down her face without her notice and she damned herself for this moment of weakness, quickly wiping away the drops on her skin she glared at the two.   
"What is it again? I told you to leave me alone." Bow did not listen to any of her words and sat down on the bench, keeping his distance yet close enough to make Adora feel his presence. His hand disappeared in his backpack before reappearing with a small bag. It was painted in a light brown color, very similar to the small ration bags she had taken with herself on training survival missions. 

"You must be hungry after, you know, all of this trouble," he explained and tossed the bag towards her. Adora's instincts betrayed her, she didn't want anything from the two now, but her stomach was grumbling way too much to disagree. Her hand shot up and grabbed the package in mid-air, quickly ripping it open to find some bread and dried fruit she did not know the origin from. Even though the quick thought of the food being poisoned crossed her mind, she immediately stuffed one of the fruits down her throat. It was delicious, not at all dry on the inside and better than the survival rations she had expected. 

She stopped eating when she saw how Glimmer sat down on the other side of the table, her eyes still lowered to the ground. A quick sting of guilt arose in Adora's throat, she had only done what she thought was right, but her years of training held her back, a voice in the back of her head warning her of the consequences every step might have.   
"Who...was she?"   
The blonde gave her a look of surprise and pain before turning her face away, biting back tears as she said, "Catra, my best friend. We are...were close." Her teeth dug deep down into her lip as she felt another wave of nausea and sorrow ripple through her body, drawing a fine line of blood. The coppery taste of it made her stop and suck on her lower lip in an attempt to hide it. 

Glimmer's eyes filled with even more guilt as she realized how deep the scars on her new companion were, "I'm sorry...Did she hurt you?" "None of your- Sorry, sorry...It's okay, I'm accustomed to her scratching me from time to time. It's not...not that she's a bad person. Catra is just...she rarely trusts anyone. She's been hurt so many times already that she doesn't want to risk it. But she has a good heart, I know that." The blonde's fist clenched up in addition to the tears in her eyes, the marks on the back of her hand aching more than ever. She had never thought that anything would rip her and Catra apart, they had always been like glued together, inseparable by anything. Why was the universe so cruel to her now?

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Adora flinched at the soft touch of Glimmer's hand on her shoulder, blinking away the water in her eyes she looked at the timid smile on the apprentice's face as she voiced, "Hey, it's gonna be alright. I know we...had a rough start and you're right to hate me for it but that out there showed me I was wrong about you. Can we maybe, you know, start from anew?" The blonde let out a half sob, half laugh as she took the girl's hand and spoke in a comedic and overly polite manner, "Hello there fellow traveler, my name is Adora, nice to meet you!" Glimmer's smile widened as she answered, "My name is Glimmer, and this is Bow, my best friend. Nice to meet you too!" Bow laughed and waved on queue, his positivity slowly driving out Adora's negativity.

"From what I have seen, you are Micah's apprentice and daughter, am I right?" the blonde directed towards Glimmer before looking at Bow, "And you are just tagging along?"   
The girl nodded, pulling out the hilt of her lightsaber and putting it onto the table for Adora to examine, "Yes, he's the best dad you can have. He has taught me so much about the force and he always gets a smile out of me, even in the worst situations. Bow does too but his jokes are way too bad for anyone not to laugh at them." "Ahem, I'm sitting right here and my jokes are better than yours by a long shot!" the boy voiced and crossed his arms in a played huff, his features betraying him halfway as a giant grin spread on his face. "Sure, tell that to yourself!" "Anyway, yeah, I'm just tagging along. I had a _little_ disagreement with my dads about where my future would lead me. I decided to do something good and wanted to go to the army but that didn't really work out, so, now I'm following Glimmer around and help her out. Saved her life three times already," he announced, beaming before his friend bent over the entire table to give him a gentle slap on the shoulder, "Two times, that thing on Cato Neimoidia doesn't count."

It was funny how quickly Adora became accustomed to the two, their constant teasing and nagging at each other made her feel like she was back on Droomund Kaas, chatting with Catra, Lonnie, Kyle, and Rogelio...Well, mostly Catra. She smiled at the two as they exchanged jokes and talked about the training they had gone through. However, they quieted down as they came to the point at which it was her turn to talk about her past.  
"So, what's your story?" Bow asked, cautiously with his eyes searching her face to make sure she was okay. After a deep breath, Adora started, "Catra and I were adopted by the Empire after our village was destroyed. The whole time we believed the Republic had sent the bomber but...you heard the rest. They took me and Catra in as cadets first, opted to train us as simple soldiers before they realized we were force-sensitive. They assigned us to the very dark lord who had led the operation to kill Catra's as well as my parents. She made us her apprentices and trained us in the dark arts with...brutal efficiency. There was this time she left us on an unfamiliar planet with just a canteen and a little bit of string to fend for ourselves. Catra and I...we were best friends...and more. Nothing could separate us until..."  
  
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She stopped mid-sentence, unable to talk further as all the emotions their previous talk had pushed away resurfaced. It hurt so impossibly much.   
"Hey, it's alright, you don't have to tell us everything," Glimmer sounded, putting her arm around the blonde's shivering body in comfort and sympathy. Her friend too slid over the bench to close the gap, enveloping them in a big hug. These people, their friendliness was something Adora had never had in the ranks of the Empire, only sometimes with her old squadmates. The only face of kindness she knew was her feline friend. A muffled laugh escaped her throat as she pushed the two away, not violently as she had before but gently.   
"Nono, it's okay. You surely want to know how I came to crash on Ruuria. It was our first real combat mission against the Republic when the Empire invaded Korriban. The space station you had circling it, there was a Jedi on it and they shot me down when Catra and I tried the same on them. Well, I'm glad to have tinkered on my ship with her. We tried to enhance its speed but eventually, we just settled on squeezing a hyperdrive into it. When I was hit, I jumped blindly...I'm lucky to be alive. And Catra she...she went out of her comfort zone to find me, only to-"

Both of them stared at her in disbelief. She could feel their sympathy and the need to comfort her but they knew full well Adora wasn't in the state to be pulled into another group hug. At this point, even saying her friend's name, mentioning her presence in her history and heart made the blonde suffer and wither away on the inside. Again, she hated herself for this weakness, all of these emotions bound to the one that had made her powerful: Passion. Unable to focus, she curled up again, trying to regain her sanity as she felt her grip on it slip away into the void.   
"I...I need some time alone again. Please don't take it personally but-" "We don't, don't you worry," Bow interrupted her, slowly standing up from his seat. His friend stood up with him, slowly not to disturb Adora in her fragile state. She grabbed a pillow and a blanket, settling them down next to the blonde, "It's okay, we understand. Just know that we're here for you, okay? Again, I'm sorry for how I acted...it wasn't right to judge you."  
Adora almost teared up again in the face of their kindness, "Thank you, both of you. I mean it."  
Both of them smiled at the gesture, real, warm smiles of happiness before they turned around to walk off into the corridor, not without looking back once or twice to make sure their new companion was fine with it. When they turned the corner, Adora felt somewhat content for the first time in what seemed to be centuries. 


	20. Suffer The Consequences

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning, the following chapter contains graphic depiction of violence, torture, and abuse

Every inch of her body hurt. The electricity surged through her every cell, almost pulverizing their contents as tendons moved against her will, muscles twitched and her lungs exploded in pain. Blue lightning crackled over her cowering form on the floor as Shadow Weaver screamed at her, "Disobedient! Disappointment! You will never replace her, you will be crushed under my feet, do you hear me?" Oh yes, Catra could hear her. Every. Single. Word. She could not answer. Nothing her body was usually able to do, worked, not her fingers, not her legs, not even her mouth. What did work, however, was her throat. She screamed. She screamed in agony as more and more of the force lightning shot down on her. The strands connected with her skin, went through her like she did not exist, causing pain everywhere it touched. There was no way she would be able to keep silent, the pain was too great. It was like nothing she had ever felt before, the usual torture of being beaten, choked and burned was nothing against the searing spasms going through her just now. 

She wanted to yell her name, curse it to burn in the deepest pits of a dying star, wanted her to come out of nowhere, and save her. However, Adora was not here. She was somewhere, far far away by now, safe and sound with her _new_ family. The feline wanted to cry, sob, splash tears everywhere when she thought about her now ex-best friend. The one person who had ever shown her true comfort and kindness was gone, all that remained was the empty shell who called herself with the name of a deserter, a traitor, and a false friend. She had been manipulated, twisted to fit Adora's plan before she abandoned her. This fact hurt even more than the electricity mutilating her body. It had been an hour, a full hour filled with the dying screams from within her throat. Shadow Weaver showed no mercy, her eyes hidden behind the dark red and black mask fixed on her twitching apprentice.

Catra did not know if she would withstand a single more volt when the thunder finally calmed down. Her body, still twitching uncontrollably, was left resting on the cold ground of her master's quarters as the dark woman lost interest in her agony and abandoned the room to search for a new victim. And finally, after a painful hour of torture, she was able to cry. Her eyes immediately filled with the salty yet refreshing water and streamed down her cheeks, pearling off the metal floor beneath. How much she would have loved company now, Adora normally did that for her. Another painful reminder of being dumped like a piece of junk, somewhere on the sideway between beggars and robbers. Curling up into a shivering ball, Catra hugged her knees and ignored the pain from her burning nerve-endings.   
"Why, Adora, why did you have to leave me?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When the feline opened the door to their quarters, she was struck by the destruction she had made it sink in. Nothing remained of the once sparse yet calming room, slash marks covered the walls of the once peaceful chamber, leaving nothing but destruction. The only thing remaining relatively unscathed was a red piece of cloth at the far end of the room. Adora's jacket had remained almost exactly in the same spot she had left it in, carelessly thrown next to the sliced and broken air duct, lightly moving in the fresh breeze emerging from the depths of the ventilation. Catra, not knowing what do do, stepped forward, grabbing the soft cloth with both of her hands, and lifted it to her face. Adora's scent was light, barely recognizable but the feline would find it in a crowd of thousands. She smelled like freshly baked bread, mixed with the faint but not insignificant smell of hot chocolate, her favorite drink. _Their_ favorite drink.

Anger wallowed up inside her again. How had the Jedi been able to twist her mind into this confusing personality? The blonde had seemed unchanged, the light of hope and comfort still there in her eyes, the fierce determination she could show in battle hidden behind her unusual kindness. Everything inside of her was different however, her strong belief in the Empire had faltered and diminished to nothing, her allegiances changed from one day to the other. Of course, Catra had gone to the library again to check if her accusations had been right, and the video had been just as she expected. Completely blank of the betrayal Adora had talked about. All it showed had been the Republican bombers sweeping down to take countless lives. 

And what did it matter? Their parents were dead. Even if it was true that Adora's parents had been Jedi, Catra had never known them or her own next-of-kin. Why should she mourn something that had gone past, never really existed in her mind? Yes, the occasional flash of a familiar soft voice was there in her dreams but what did it matter? The Empire had adopted them, had given them a home, shelter, a destiny to fulfill. And Adora had left all of it behind on the spot, only to chase ghosts of the past. Her fists clenched up in anger and her brows furrowed as she thought about her standing there, between _Jedi_. 

A loud sound of tearing cloth finally made it to her ear as she snapped out of it. Looking down at her hands she spotted the long cut in the middle of the jacket where her claws had ripped the cloth and shredded it to pieces. A sudden sting of guilt found its way to her heart. This was her last memory of Adora, _her_ Adora, not the twisted version out there, and she had just put a huge dent into it. One single tear formed in the corner of her eye and dripped down onto the place where the rip opened before she scrunched up the clothing and stored it in a little backpack. Adora might have left her behind to die but she could still make her destiny, she would rise over her master and make her feel the pain she had brought upon the feline. She would pay for the years of abuse and after that, she would show Adora how strong she was without her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sleeping in these times was hard, closing her eyes, Catra visualized the same face over and over again, a hurt expression printed onto the face of a blonde, blue-eyed girl yelling her name. She pushed it aside but it returned every single time she tried to slip into delirium. Why could she have not stayed? It was all the feline had ever wanted, she had wanted to be the reason for her friend's strength. Now, with this vivid daydream gone, she had to make own decisions. She needed to think about staying alive on her own, and most importantly, finally get rid of her master. The deep ocean inside her chest churned and boiled every time she thought about how Shadow Weaver had treated her as the inferior, the weaker student, nothing more than dead weight slowing her and Adora down. The blonde had always been the better apprentice, the goody-two-shoes for their master even when Catra put all her effort into impressing her. 

In her rage, she grabbed her pillow and pressed it over her face. How long would she have to squeeze to end this nightmare? Would anyone miss her? Would _she_ miss her? Catra's mind flashed over the stories of Sith masters, their names written down in legends, stories, and history books. She wanted to be remembered, immortal through the drying ink in time's book. Independence, strength, invulnerability. Never would anyone hurt her ever again she decided without speaking a word, never would she be exploited again, used as a weapon, a tool. She was going to make them all pay. A plan started forming in her thoughts, a grand scheme far more complicated and dependent on outside factors she had anticipated, yet Catra was determined to pull through with it.

Her first step was to find out as much as she could about Adora's new companions, starting on Ruuria. Surely the adult Jedi she had seen in front of that ship had an informant on the planet, someone who had granted him and his apprentice asylum. Oh, she would find them, squeeze them out like a ripe fruit. Then, after learning about their plans, she would not address her master, no, she would entrust them onto someone else, someone higher up in the chain of command. Malgus might not have been the friendliest figure but he was strong and he did not hesitate to bring down the weakest part of the chain. As long as she stayed on his good side, she would be safe from her master's wrath. And the final, riskiest part of her plan involved her role in the Empire. Long enough had she been crawling along the floor, picking up the scraps of the ones above. Exploiting the rank and trust of Malgus, she wanted to achieve power. If she could convince her usefulness to him, he might just entrust her case to the emperor, who in turn would grant her an armada. With this highly unlikely and long process completed, she would be able to strike fear in the hearts of her enemies, target their weakest points. And of course, she would target the one person who had been her weakness for so long. Adora would pay.

A grim smile spread across her face as she connected the dots, went through every picture in her mind of her friend's weaknesses and the ones she expected the Jedi to have. And with this dark thought on her mind and the grin still etched on her face she slipped away into the darkness of sleep.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When she woke up, everything around her seemed to have changed. What had been her destroyed quarters was gone, dissipated into dust. Or was it? Around her, a long green meadow reached infinitely in almost every direction. Catra perked her cat-like ears in every direction in the search of sound but there was nothing but silence. Was she dead? Had her heart stopped after the electrocution? No, something was wrong. This...dream, it felt so weird, almost real. The feline supported her weight with her elbows propped up on the mattress beneath her as she pushed herself up. Her nose twitched as the warm, comforting scent of chocolate reached it and her heart froze. No, this was a dream, Adora was not here, she could not be. Yet, as she stood up and looked around, a faint laugh echoed over the plains. It made her dark thoughts melt away like ice in the sun and filled her heart with warmth for just a second before Catra remembered where she was. Turning to face the source of the sound, she stared into the distance. And she froze.

Out of the mist surrounding the meadow, the dark and menacing bark of several trees emerged. Coming ever closer, they multiplied, first a few, then many until she stood in front of a black forest. It almost screamed at her, "Do not enter, death awaits". A slight sweat broke out on her neck as she stepped forward, ignoring her deepest instincts to run. Another laugh emerged from the treeline, this time more distorted.   
"A- Adora?" she stuttered, loud enough to alarm anyone close to her presence. All she got as an answer was her friend's voice, a little more shrill than before.

Her instincts told her to run the opposite direction, to leave her behind in self-preservation and the need for repayment of betrayal. Yet, her feet dragged her into the direction of her voice. Roots on the ground tried to trip her as she stormed off into the darkness, the light from outside almost completely diminished as she jumped over the low thicket in the search of her friend. The woods seemed to grow darker with every step she took, the plants around her feet growing in size and density. She stepped into brambles just as she claimed over a big rotten trunk. Her foot burned in real pain as the tiny needles pierced her heels and she yelped in pain before continuing. Adora's voice was close now, she could hear her rambling to herself incoherently, yet, nothing indicated her presence. No broken twigs, no plants pushed aside to get over them, not even a clearing she could have used to wait in. Just as she ducked under the low hanging strands of a bush filled with poisonous looking berries, she was proven to be mistaken.

The clearing she had run out to was huge, impossibly huge in fact. It was beyond the laws of any nature, there had been no sign of it anywhere. The grass inside was yellow, almost grey as the sunlight was cast off it, reflecting off the familiar red jacket of Adora as Catra stepped out of the darkness. The light seemed unnatural too like thrown down from above by lamps or a dying star in its last breaths. The feline was scared and she hated herself for it, nonetheless, she approached the person standing in its middle. She was facing the opposite way, her blonde hair covering her features in the breeze-less air, only moved by her jerky motions. Catra came closer, stopping only a few meters away from her back.  
"A- Adora?" she asked, fear intertwined with her words, "Where are we? What is all of this?"

The blonde giggled, not friendly or comforting as she normally did. No, she giggled in a shrill, unfitting malicious voice. Catra took a step back as the color of her hair seemed to fade away into a dull shade of what had once been golden, now only a grey-ish sludge with a little gleam, almost if it was dying. When she turned around, the feline screamed at the top of her lungs. Wrinkled skin stretched over her cheeks, surrounding a gap filled with teeth. The thing looked at her with cold, black, pupil-less eyes, and her mouth opened with a large, shark-like grin, leaking blood as she stated in Adora's soft voice, "This is home, Catra."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Those of you who follow Star Wars EU lore, what do you think do I imply with this "nightmare"?


	21. Coruscant

A hand shook her shoulder with slow and soft movements when she came back to senses.  
"Mhmm, leave me alone Catra, it's not even morning yet," Adora grumbled and turned around to face the other side of the bed. A slow smile crept over her features as the hand again touched her shoulder, this time slightly more irritated. Groaning, she turned around, blinded by the bright light outside of her window she covered her eyes and growled like a night-active creature awoken from its slumber.  
"Uh, Adora. It's me-"  
The blonde let her hand drop faster than a glowing hot stone on her palm as she came to senses and all the memories flooded her mind. The Holocron, the ritual, Catra's burning eyes with tear streaks on her light fur as she yelled, "Monster!" She stopped her heart and lungs from reacting to it, she felt panic and confusion rise up in her throat and would have surely hyperventilated if she hadn't closed her eyes and taken a deep, painful breath. Opening her eyes again, she looked at the person standing in the sunlight. Glimmer looked shy, but her eyes said more than just that. The girl had heard the feline's name before and with the recent happening, she was starting to connect the dots.

"Oh- Oh hey. Sorry, I didn't recognize you, still a little drowsy," she explained, rubbing her eyes while quickly grabbing her boots from the cold ground beneath. They were equally cold when she slipped into them, their heat conducted into the alloy they had stood on.   
"It's okay, we saw that your sleep wasn't really...comfortable." The Jedi apprentice pointed at the crumpled blanket on the ground, referring to the many times Adora had awoken while they were still traveling through hyperspace, yelling her best friend's name and clawing at the air in her sleep. The nightmares she had experienced were worse than anything she had ever felt, they felt far too real to be just a simple product of her imagination. She had seen images of a temple flashing behind her closed eyelids, ruins of an old Sith facility buried deep beneath the surface of a distant planet. However, she paid them little mind, for her all that mattered now was to get over the day without dying or being executed by the Jedi council.

"Yeah, it was awful. I- Is it strange I miss sleeping on a hard mattress and not-" she pointed at the squishy cushions beneath her body with an embarrassed grin. Glimmer raised her brow, "You know that _is_ hard in comparison to a real bed, right?"  
Grinning dumbfounded, Adora grinned at the girl and shook her head. She'd always been accustomed to the hard beds in her and Catra's quarters, after a long day of training none of them had cared about how it felt, their bodies aching from all the activity. The energy of her grin faltered for a second as the invisible picture of the feline's features appeared in her mind.   
"We never really had anything like beds back at the Empire, just hard mattresses on the ground. Guess I got used to it, at least faster than-" she stopped, pushing past the pictures in her head. This wasn't her friend, their last encounter had been messy but she knew the real Catra, the one who hummed in her sleep, who purred as she scratched her messy little hair tufts next to her cheeks.

"Anyway," she avoided the Jedi apprentice's eyes and looked to the ground, "Are we there yet?"  
Glimmer's voice responded somewhere out of the blonde's field of view as she changed the view and stood up to look out of the starboard side window she had looked through when they had left the desert planet just a few hours ago. Now she realized why the light had been so bright at first. The setting sun over Coruscant was gigantic, like a burning disk creeping over the edge over the horizon, bringing light and warmth yet hiding malicious destructive tendencies. Like- No, she would not go down this path again.  
"Yeah, the temple is just a few minutes out. I came here to tell you to get ready and..." her voice stumbled over the words she said next, a low tingling sensation making its way down Adora's spine as she heard a low clicking sound behind herself, "I'm sorry, Adora but...the council won't allow an unrestrained Sith, defector or not in the temple."

Turning around, she spotted the sparkling handcuffs in her hands. She looked guilty as if she was feeling genuinely uneasy about restraining her new companion; as if she feared for the well-being of...a friend. Adora bit down on her lip as she stepped forward, "I get it, I can't prove I'm trustworthy. Do it."   
"Are you sure?"  
She shot the young woman a look that did not need a sentence to explain it. Fierce determination surged through her body as the cold metal closed around her wrists, officially making her a prisoner of the Galactic Republic. At least she knew she was in the presence of people who cared about her in a way that was not connected to power and rule of the galaxy, totally different from the atmosphere in the ranks of the Empire. And, hidden in a small pouch fitted into the white cloth of her sleeve, a little mechanical lockpick just waited for her to be used should the situation go sideways.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Morning Adora," Micah exclaimed as she stepped into the cockpit, her arms cuffed in front of her chest and a smug look on her face.  
"Good morning Master Jedi, lovely start in the day with a little bracelet!"  
She shook her hands in unison, making the movable parts of her restraints jingle as they clanged onto each other, shooting the man a grin to assure him she was okay with it. This wasn't the first time for her in cuffs, training had left her regularly in this situation with only limited time to escape. Trying to open cuffs behind your back while slowly being lowered into a tank full of corroding acid was not something she would have liked to repeat. The man smiled back, slightly timid, "I'm sorry for this but the council's trust in the Empire is very limited due to the recent happenings."  
Adora tilted her head in confusion, he sounded like it was not the invasion that had provoked the Republic but something different. Her look of confusion was answered with a glazed-over stare from the dark-haired man. Something was not right.

"They destroyed a ship full with senators on the way to lead peace negotiations. The only thing they were able to send were pictures of the Sith armada before we lost contact."  
The blonde's heart skipped a beat as she realized the malicious intent behind this cruel action of the executives standing behind the capture of Korriban and further invasions in the Tingel Arm, "Psychological warfare, he wants you to be afraid." He nodded before turning back to the controls, keeping his eyes fixed on the buildings beneath, and the crawling speeders in the streets. There was something else in his eyes, Adora felt he was troubled with his emotions. Quite rare for a Jedi master. It did not take him long to realize the worried looks from her side. Taking a deep breath he explained, "It's Glimmer's mother. She was supposed to lead the negotiations but thankfully she was fed up with other tasks in the senate...she could be dead if it wasn't for the ways of the force."

This was not the Jedi way, Adora thought. Micah was different than other Jedi, she could feel his light pull to the dark side, a fine but not unimportant taint of corruption in his heart.   
"I always thought to have a lover was forbidden in the order," she voiced her thoughts, "Why is it that you have one?"  
The man shook his head with a look of mild amusement, "They accept things like lovers but they pose a threat when you grow too attached to them. Attachment is what's forbidden, but yes, I'm not the biggest supporter of this rule." Micah took his eyes off the window, his gaze meeting with the blonde's, sending warm blasts into her heart, "It is them who make us strong, the people who matter to us, the people we matter to. Strong bonds have their good and bad sides."  
She stared at the ground, pushing away her troubled mind of the people she mattered to, one person in particular. He was right yet so wrong at the same time; attachment could make one do foolish things, it was a zone in between dark and light, swinging to and fro. It could give one power but it could also make one use this power in the most destructive and selfish ways. It was funny how she found herself in just this position, a lost piece of machinery trying to find its place while rocking back and forth between the opposing sides of the force.

Seeing the Jedi temple for the first time in her life was a picture Adora knew she would never forget ever again. The thin sheet of clouds above broke the light of the sun into thousands of woven strands, letting the outer metal shell of the temple glisten like thousand broken shards of glass. Speeders above swooshed past the five towers piercing the morning sky, giving the scenery even more life than it already had. Adora's mouth stood wide open in awe as she stared out of the window, mesmerized by the beauty of the structure.   
"Welcome to the great Jedi temple, Adora," Micah said as they started their descent onto one of the landing platforms in front of the long stairs leading into the darkened interior. She was unable to form words as the ship touched down with the temple still looming above them. Standing up from the pilot's seat and stretching his arms the man exclaimed, "Come on, we've got a meeting to crash."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The first indicator that this would be more than just a piece of cake was the temple guards stopping them with their glowing yellow pikes before they could enter.  
"Master Micah, you and your companion's presence was not expected. Neither was the one of this prisoner of yours," one of them reported through the gold and white mask covering his face. It was eerie similar to the one Shadow Weaver was currently wearing, the blonde noticed, the only things differentiating between the two versions were the color and the little splinter of a kyber crystal in her old master's veil. Her Jedi companion stepped forward with confidence, showing them a small holographic projector in his palm, "I have information for the council about the Sith's next steps. And she is with me, her weapons are confiscated and she's cuffed, there should be no problem."

Grim silence arose as the guards exchanged looks indecipherable to the four people waiting for an answer. Bow, Glimmer, and Adora did the same, the worry in all of their eyes before the man stepped aside.  
"You may pass. May the force be with you."  
With a small bow, Micah thanked them, making the blonde wonder why he was an unexpected visitor himself. She would have to ask about this later, should she not find the answer herself. His apprentice would surely be open enough to talk about it, provided that it was no deeply scarred memory of sorts. However, her doubts in the man she was following were silenced as she entered the building. It was so reminiscent of the temple on Korriban, yet its polar opposite at the same time. White archways loomed high above her head, their beauty impregnating itself into her mind forever. The building fixed every flaw she had thought about on the Empire's side, it was open, not as crowded as the Sith academy was, the hallways were not as dark and uninviting as these were. Her eyes sparkled with delight as she stared at the architecture of this place, the thought of the building standing on an old Sith monument only crossing her mind once. The two young companions behind her giggled as she stumbled and almost fell over her own feet as she tried to get a better look at the high up windows letting in the morning sun. 

That was until she saw the people around her. They were staring at her, some with confusion, some with mild interest. Most of them however, had the indelible fire of hatred and disgust in their eyes, making it almost impossible to distinguish them from most of the people on Droomund Kaas. Not a single eye was not looking at her or her restraints, the air was heavy with tension as she folded her hands in an attempt to look less suspicious, a goofy grin parting her lips,   
  
"Uh, hello there?"


	22. The Council

"Let's just...move on, shall we?" Bow whispered as his eyes scanned the room, noticing the poisonous glares emerging from even the depths of far away balconies. The air felt cold with all the tension and disgust in it, almost as if a sudden snowstorm had come out of nowhere and surrounded the entire temple in its white cloak. Her embarrassed smirk did not cease when she stepped forward to follow Micah, who had acknowledged his companion's advice without saying a word. Slowly, the people around them returned to the tasks they had been sitting on for the time Adora had not been a point of their interest. She saw how a Jedi master turned back to a group of younglings standing in a big half-circle, their eyes covered by a thick white visor as they tried to deflect the harmless, yet somewhat painful energy beams of little levitating training bots with their sabers. Once everything had started to calm down around them, the blonde felt the energy pulsating through the entire building. It felt peaceful, like a slumbering millennia-old giant snoring in his sleep and thinking about the knowledge they had acquired in their lifetime. This low rumble she felt, it was completely different to the kind of force she had been taught of. Here, violence, ignorance, and anything overly emotional seemed more like an illusion than a way of using the force with.

"And, do you like it?" the dark-skinned boy asked again, sporting a big smile as Adora turned around with amazement in her eyes, "Of course I do! This is amazing, I have never seen and felt anything like this!" The Jedi apprentice at his side followed his example, the amusement about their companion's glowing eyes quickly affecting her mood.  
"I know, right? The order has been maintaining the temple for hundreds of years, it impresses me every time I come back here even though I have seen it often."  
  
Adora closed her eyes, smelling the faint scent of vanilla in the air. Why had she ever considered this place hostile? Apart from the fact that the people here were not very welcoming towards Imperial agents, the temple seemed like the perfect place to spend a lot of time at, without having to worry about the whole war raging on not far away from their doorstep. Yet, there was something different, something ancient, deep below the floor they were currently walking on. Long ago, a dark monument had stood here, filled with the corrupting power of the dark side, symbolizing the superiority of the Sith. The power, even though the Jedi had built their temple above in an attempt to neutralize the dark side, remained, slowly seeping through the cracks in the ground without their notice. Ironic, Adora thought, the great and almighty council were ignorant enough to entomb something they could not control.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When they stopped, Adora almost bounced into Micah, unable to take her eyes off the structure around her. Thankfully, Glimmer was able to grab her shoulder before her face could connect to her father's back. Turning around, the Jedi's face was clouded with worry.  
"Adora, I need you to listen to me now. You are about to meet the Jedi council, and I know, you will want to tell them your story but let me do the talking. Only speak when they directly address you, do not stare at them, do not even flinch. In their eyes, you are the enemy."  
Her gaze immediately met the ground. Had she expected them to be friendly towards her, nevermind understanding? Had Adora thought they would greet her with open arms? The looks she had reviewed upon entry were more than a definite answer to the questions plaguing her mind. No, this was how everyone treated prisoners of war, though, the Empire would never let them close to anyone with a high rank without clearance, they would rather kill them than let them get close to someone valuable to the emperor's plan. 

"I know, haven't expected anything else," the former Sith apprentice replied, lifting her gaze to meet the Jedi's, determined to show her worth and allegiance. What she wanted to do the most, however, was to free Catra from the clutches of a nation that had done nothing to help and protect them, instead, they had used them as weapons at their disposal. She hoped the feline had not been punished for her disappearance, if that was the case she would not be able to forgive herself. Adora had never intended to push her into taking the blame for her.  
Micah nodded, "Thank you for understanding. I promise they won't hurt you, we will get through this, okay?"  
A light feeling of hope spread through the blonde's heart as she responded with a nod, she knew the Jedi would not give up on her. He had not even given up on her when she had been skeptical and suspicious of his claims, not even when she had openly shown aggression as she had escaped the cantina on Ruuria. Behind her, both Glimmer and Bow decided it was time for a reassuring group hug. This time, she did not flinch. This time, she accepted their warmth, almost drowning in the feeling of having found a family that truly loved and accepted her...even though one part was missing.

"We can do it!" the boy mumbled loudly as his face was squished between their bodies, evoking a little laugh from his three companions. When they parted, Adora felt a small drop of water in the corner of her eye. She turned away to wipe it off, unbeknownst to her companions. It hurt to know she had found luck while her best friend was sitting in a hostile, merciless place where she could be struck down for her usual disobedience. However, she could not let herself get distracted right now. The blonde pushed the thoughts aside while keeping her determination to save the people close to her. After a long time, the thought of parents struck her mind again. It had never been gone, the dull sting of pain and guilt had been floating around inside her already aching chest. How would they have reacted if they had known she had worked for the same nation that had destroyed their home, taken their lives, and was now trying to take over the entire galaxy? A more sinister, hurtful question arose in her head. Was she doing this for them or just herself? It felt...weird. On one hand, she wanted to avenge her family, the one thought that had driven her down the dark path of the Sith. She wanted justice to be brought upon the people who had done it, however, something held her back. The Empire in its construct was evil, twisted, and cruel, yet there were people worth saving. If she had been able to realize the cruelty of the emperor's rule, others could too. On the other hand, her fleeing from the Empire had put her on their bad side. Was she simply hiding in the Jedi's close vicinity to be safe from her possible assassins?

The blonde's thoughts were interrupted as they arrived at a long tube in the middle of the temple, its white exterior disappearing high in the ceiling above. Glimmer stepped forward, grabbing onto her shoulder, "This is it, we are about to meet the council. Try to...hide your nervousness. Dumb thing to say but-"  
"It's okay, I know. I can stand a few hours longer of being unwelcomed, no worries," she said, shrugging off her dark thoughts and drawing a deep breath to channel her concentration, masking her feelings to everyone around her. Of course, she was nervous, it was natural to feel like it when about to confront the masters of the light side whom she had been told about in countless horror stories, all made up by her master. With one last look towards Micah, Bow, and Glimmer standing next to the slowly opening door of the turbo lift, she stepped forward, ready to accept the higher judgment. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The lift brought them to the meeting chamber in mere seconds, the hissing of metal gliding on electrized alloy following them along the way. With a soft clang, the lift reached its final station. When the doors opened, Adora was blinded by the sudden bright light flooding the room ahead of her. It took her a few seconds to adapt to the change, her eyes trying to comprehend the scene she was being led to. A large window front opened up to reveal the tiny housing constructs of Coruscant stretching out to every direction of the illuminated horizon. As if aligned with the falling in strands of light, twelve lightly cushioned seats stood around a large round space, its floor laid out with ornaments of the past. The blonde's blood froze as she felt the immense accumulation of light side energy in the room, feeling sick to the stomach from the sudden changes bestowed upon her body, mind, and soul. In the seats, multiple figures had their faces turned towards their visitors, completely devoid of feelings.

"Welcome, Master Micah," the tall figure of a Kel Dor announced, an alien species devoid of what Adora tied to human features. His voice was calm, yet somewhat disapproving of the newcomer's entry. A dark array of glasses shrouded the man's eyes, something most members of his species preferred when venturing to other worlds since their own offered fairly different conditions to live with. It was his presence that made the feeling of light in the room so much stronger as if the light had entrusted its destiny to the shape staring their way at this very instant. With a low bow, Adora's self-proclaimed protector stepped forward into the middle of the circle. A small gesture of his hand signalized his three companions to follow, the blonde exchanging a worried look with her new friends before she stepped forward.  
"I feel honored to be in your presence again, Master Zym," he responded, following his words with another short bow, "We have come to you in a time of great suffering."  
The Kel Dor studied first Micah, then the small crowd behind him.  
"Indeed. I see you have brought guests and...a prisoner, perhaps?" 

Adora felt his gaze wander up and down her face, trying to determine her role in this meeting. It felt like he was looking right through the disguise she had put on to shroud her feelings, her heart immediately picking up a quicker pace than usual. Wisdom and patience hid behind the Jedi's strange features, something that sent a spike to the back of the blonde's head. Finally remembering the hours of galactic history Shadow Weaver had imprinted on Catra and her over the years, she recognized him. He was not just some Jedi, everyone even ever so slightly talented in the force knew that by simply looking at him. He was the current Jedi grandmaster, the leader of the order, keeper of their secrets, and head of the council.  
Micah, nodding and gesturing for Adora to come closer explained, "You already know my daughter and her companion from the last time we met. This, however, is someone you will be interested in."  
Zym studied her features once again, the Jedi master standing behind her waiting for his signal to explain. However, the Kel Dor addressed the blonde directly.  
"Who are you, my child? I can feel a great darkness in your heart, hiding the true light you carry within."

"My...My name is Adora, master," she replied with a hesitant nod to signalize her respect, "I stand here before you not as a prisoner, but a seeker."  
One of the other council members shot her a look of amusement, "And what do you seek? We know whom you have sided with, what would a Sith want from us else than our early demise?"  
The blonde met the Togruta's gaze, trying to sound as confident as possible in her situation while simultaneously hiding her hands fumbling on the lock of her cuffs, unable to endure the restraints anymore, "I seek the truth, I seek justice. Yes, I have spent most of my life on the side of the Empire, plotting their revenge against the order in the thought I was avenging the death of my parents." Micah stepped in, although not directly addressed her completed her next sentence.  
"Her parents were Master Del'ag and Laureen, master. They died in a planned Imperial bombing run, not in a pirate attack as we were informed of."  
The Kel Dor raised his hand towards the blonde's companion, making him quiet down as quickly as he had stepped up, "Let her speak, Micah. Say, child, what do you define as justice?"

Adora's mind quickly went over what she had been taught. Looking at it in hindsight, the words of Shadow Weaver made little sense and were filled with poisonous intent. For her, the only acceptable form of justice had been death, slow and painful if possible. Yet, Adora had started reconsidering everything she had ever learned. Despite her allegiance to the Empire, Micah had forgiven her, given her a chance to prove herself without speaking of violence a single time. Was this not the way she would want things to go?  
"Justice...requires trial. I have been taught that a clean saber strike would suffice but I don't think it is. People have to be shown what they have done, must be put in front of a non-biased judge to be given the right punishment," she explained, keeping her voice strong and determined as she tried to maintain eye contact with Zym's dark glasses staring back at her. The man nodded, his features resembling a somewhat thoughtful look. Again, he looked her in the eyes as he spoke, "Mhm, a fair understanding. One that could be a simple lie. Why should we not put you in front of a judge and let them decide your fate? What makes you think we would trust you?" He paused, his voice returning with amusement, "And you can stop pretending you are still cuffed."

The blonde's heart skipped a beat as she realized her hands had continued to work on the handcuffs, their metal bands clinging onto her wrists in a last frail attempt to stay on them. She tried to establish an embarrassed grin as they dropped to the ground with a loud sound, making some of the council members shift closer to their weapons stored close at their sides. Zym nodded, his amusement remaining in the room. She dropped to her knees, "You can't trust me, as you can see. Let me stand trial, let someone decide my fate. I have nothing to lose anymore, I have lost my home, my family, my friends. All I can offer you is my allegiance." A short silence arose before Adora lifted her eyes again, full of confidence and her deepest feelings, unrestrained by the restrictions that had been put onto her by the forces she had been controlled by. The Jedi grandmaster's gaze shifted to a rather surprised one as she exclaimed, "I want to save the galaxy from the Empire's wrath."


	23. Returning Fire

It was silent around the blonde as she kneeled in front of the Jedi grandmaster. He could have easily cut her down with little effort, a simple strike would have been enough to dispose of her. An action that might have saved him and the entire order time, one potential enemy less, one less worry to keep in mind. However, Zym did not do as much as to bend forward and touch the former Sith apprentice's shoulder to exchange a long look with her.  
"I did not expect as much strength from you as I should have. Rise, Adora, daughter of Del'ag, lost spirit of the galaxy. Now, how do you intend on helping us?" he asked as she regained her stance, her arms now folded behind her back, almost like she was discussing battle plans and tactics with their squad. She felt proud of herself as well as grateful for the acceptance of the Jedi, even though she could feel the disagreement from several of the other council members. Not that she could blame them, she had just shown them it was a rather risky idea to entrust her anything. Turning back to Micah she nodded at him, "May I get my stuff back? Keep the saber."

The man's gaze swooped around the room, quietly taking in the atmosphere and feelings hanging in the room. Stepping forward after a gesture from the council's leader, Micah handed Adora both the Holocron as well as the chip she had saved the flight log of her master's fury-class on. With a quick motion, she grabbed her holoprojector, inserting the chip into a small slit on its side.   
"This is the information I was able to gather in my last hours in Imperial custody if you can call it that," the blonde explained as the blue picture of several flight paths and locations started stretching out over the formerly empty air, "These are recordings of my master's ship. Some of the locations here are obvious. Korriban and Droomund Kaas are the current hot spots for the Empire, striking them would leave them in ruins. However, they have a gigantic fleet, as you...already witnessed."  
She stopped, exchanging knowing looks with Zym and Micah as well as some of the council members. One of them, a male Zabrak seemed to be very interested in her explanation, his eyes glued to the image in front of him. Adora felt weird, she was betraying the nation she had lived with for the majority of her life, yet these people were the ones she could trust, right?

"You are referring to the negotiators," the Kel Dor on his seat voiced, his hand resting on his chin as he thought about the possibilities the blonde was showing them.  
Adora nodded, trying to show how she truly felt by explaining, "Yes...I'm sorry about it, I didn't know it happened even though I spent time on Korriban. I assumed my friend..."  
Her last words made the Jedi's back stiffen as he felt her discomfort. Behind her, Glimmer and Bow started shifting around in uneasiness.  
"What is it my child?" Zym asked, "I can feel your discomfort about this 'friend' of yours."  
The blonde assembled her thoughts, why did she have to let information about Catra slip right here and now? Cursing herself for her stupidity she turned to face the entire council, "Not everyone on the side of the Empire is beyond saving. I had...have friends there who were abducted in a very similar manner to me. I will help you but I need to know they will stand trial for what they have been ordered to do, not publically executed."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

She felt how the council members were getting skittish, their belief in the complete black and white of the force stronger than their humanity. Adora started to see the flaws of the two opposing sides of the war. The Jedi, strong in their belief in a neutral and good-willed force that did not want them to have any emotions and the Sith, who relied solely upon their emotions to bend the force to their will while ignoring the knowledge and everything else that had been established to help them find a deeper meaning in this cosmic power. Grateful for Micah's presence, the man who seemed to be a Jedi yet was not pure in his ideology, she kept her gaze fixed on Zym and his companions. 

"We cannot guarantee this, you know that," he answered, leaning back in his seat while crossing his arms, "Many of them will fight to the last breath, we have no way of knowing they change their belief simply because they say so. A situation very closely resembling yours."   
A sting of anger stabbed her in the heart. Without thinking about it, she retracted the projection and stared at the man in front of her, unable to restrain her emotions, "Yet you choose to trust me, why?"  
This time, it was not Zym who answered. The female Togruta from earlier intervened, meeting the blonde's gaze with a fierce look in her eyes.   
"We do not trust you. Right now, you are setting the stones for us to do so. You are...different from what we expected from a Sith apprentice, the force seems to guide your path. But master Zym is right, there is little chance we will be able to capture and trial a Sith for their wrong-doings. We can try, however. This is all we can give you."

Adora's mind raced. She did not want people she knew and cared about getting hurt in the crossfire of a conflict they were never meant to participate in. Especially Catra. Never would she be able to forgive herself if the feline was wounded or...worse. The Togruta seemed trustworthy, almost as wise as Zym appeared, however, she showed more empathy even though she had been suspicious of the blonde before. She had to take the chances, her friends would get hurt more should the Empire be successful in its plans of invading the galaxy.  
She sighed, still angry, "Fine, I will remember your promise. What are your plans to fight them?"  
Silence filled the room as the council members stared at each other, their eyes silently communicating their discomfort about someone like Adora asking questions that should be kept from enemy intelligence. It was Zym who reacted first, hesitantly yet trying to keep his composure, "I assume we can trust you with this, you would not be able to do anything about it anymore anyway. The Senate has decided on a counteroffensive in the outer rim, targeting strategic planets and positions for the Empire. As of now, we have several cruisers and ships assembled to strike three Imperial positions, Ruuria, Belkadan, and Sernpidal. From there we will try to retake Korriban once the positions are fortified."

Belkadan, Adora's old home. The name was painful as she remembered the few images she retained from her childhood. Memories of cities and villages scattered across the landscape as she returned home from a trip to the capital with her parents. After all this time, she started to see their faces again. Her father's lean and muscular appearance, his soft facial features opposing the rest of his body. The laugh of her mother, quiet yet filled with joy. With a small stutter, she explained, "B- Belkadan is indeed very crucial to the Empire. They have several spies in their government, I remember logs about it. Ruuria, however...what's so special about it?"  
Zym nodded, "The Hydian Way trade route is what is special about it. We can't afford to lose control of it, otherwise, we will be unable to transport troops and goods to planets still fighting off Imperial influence."  
This time, the silence after the grandmaster's words was filled with Micah's articulation. Turning around, Adora saw how he stepped forward, his communication device in hand. Waiting for the council to approve of his try to participate in the conversation, he put his hand on the blonde's shoulder, giving it a light squeeze as if to say "Well done". She felt proud, important in her new role. Still, her thoughts of her feline friend trapped in the ranks of the enemy legion unsettled her, constantly returning to take her focus off the mission at hand for a split second. 

"I have a contact on Ruuria," the Jedi voiced as Zym gave him an unspoken signal, "An old friend with eyes everywhere. If you allow, I would like to ask him about the current status there, maybe we won't have to face too much enemy fire if we acquire his intel."  
Again, the Togruta put one of the most important questions back on the board, "You are sure we can trust him, Micah?"  
The Jedi nodded, serious about his every word, "I am. In my time away from the order I have lived in his presence for a very long time. Glimmer and Bow can both agree that he had more than only one chance to take us out if he truly wanted to."  
Shooting the two a glance, Adora saw them nod in agreement, though they did not seem very comfortable with the council members shifting their focus on them. When she turned back around to Zym, she could feel he had taken notice of her desire to return to her friend's side. She bowed slightly before walking backward until she aligned with the two. Bow's hand patted her back in support while Gimmer gave her a weak smile. The blonde's heart took a short leap as she realized they meant their gestures, warmth once again filling her chest as she waited for Micah to continue.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Ruurian took notice of the transmission fairly quickly, his holographic image appearing in the middle of the council's chambers within just a few seconds.   
"Micah! How good to see you!" his deep clicking voice sounded through the speakers, slightly distorted by the long distance they were talking over.   
The Jedi smiled, "Ca'dar, I see you are well. How's the family?"  
A short silence arose before the insectoid answered, apparently this was some kind of code language they had agreed on before. Adora smirked, a smart decision of Micah to take, you never knew when you might need it.  
"Fine and dandy, the children still haven't spread their wings, thank the heavens."  
Zym raised a brow in his seat, he seemed to be rather skeptical of her protector's methods and contacts. The blonde knew there was something she did not know of, Glimmer, Bow, and Micah's obvious discomfort hinted a longer version of history they had not told her about. What had the man meant with "his time away from the order"?

"Very good. And how's the weather, do we have a storm brewing up? Maybe even asteroids in orbit?" he continued, making the words seem as casual as a usual call between friends. Ca'dar seemed to look somewhere beyond the screen before he answered, "The skies are as clear as your undergarments, even though that does not mean much."  
Micah laughed dryly, exchanging a goofy smile with one of the council members staring at him with disgust. Shaking his head he made sure no one else was trying to quietly voice their disquiet with the situation.  
"Very well. Listen, I have to go on with business, we are about to have a meeting to discuss our current financial situation. Hold on out there, alright?"  
"I will don't you worry. It was nice hearing from you again," Ca'dar responded with what appeared to be a grin before cutting the connection. The council looked at Micah with mixed feelings. He bowed, "I am sorry for his dry jokes. From what he just said, I can assure you the orbit is clear even though the Empire was at Ruuria already. I doubt they will have many sentries there, maybe a few spies watching the radar. Apart from that, we should be clear to start the counteroffensive."

"Good," Zym mumbled, his eyes fixed on the spot where the hologram had just been at, "I assume you want to be part of it?"  
His gaze swooped over Adora, sending a shiver go down her spine. The Kel Dor was not only addressing her protector but her in particular. Micah agreed with a tilt of his head, "Indeed. We all have strong connections to the place. In the worst scenario, you will no longer have to see my pretty face anymore."  
Tension levels rose once more following his words, the council members glaring at the man in their midst. Adora was now eager to discover what dark history had caused Micah's retreat from the order, this ominous something seemed to be of more meaning than she had initially thought. Her questions were left unanswered as the grandmaster declared, "Very well. Who is for Micah's departure leading the first strike?"  
The girl had thought about something like this for quite a while. How the Jedi would send their people into war, fully knowing they might not return from the frontline. In the case of Micah, he even had family, a child apprentice, as well as two other followers who needed his protection and guidance. That was what shocked her all the more when the council decided. In unison, they all raised their hands, agreeing to send him into the fire that was soon about to rage over the red sands of Korriban.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Ruurian stepped away from the device after the Jedi had ended their conversation. He stared at it, guilt flaming up in his eyes as he seemed to think about what he had just done. The person standing behind him in the shadows cared little for his emotional well-being. Stepping forward out of the shadows, she clapped her hands, "Well done my bug friend, well done indeed. He took the bait, don't you think?"  
"Yes," Ca'dar mumbled, his eyes still fixed on the ground, "Yes he did. Please don't hurt my family, they have done nothing wrong."  
The room was bathed in crimson light as a saber was ignited right in front of his neck. She laughed as she felt his fear, enjoying his pain. Soon, the Jedi would be here, along with his apprentice and Adora. She would be ready for them, the blockade around the planet was in its position to strike down the counteroffensive force of the Republic.   
"Oh yes, your family. You will see them soon, don't worry. For now, we shall wait for your friend's arrival, shouldn't we?" she said, taking the weapon away from his shivering form. A simple tilt of her head was signal enough for the troopers in the room to take him away. Smiling, she stepped out of the cantina, looking at the sky above to see the Harrowers patrolling the vast blue.  
"Oh Adora, if you knew what surprise I have prepared for you."


	24. Running head on...

Adora was impressed by the armada the senate had been able to established as they arrived in Coruscant's orbit. The massive Valor-class cruisers hovered in several different spots, casting their shadows back down onto the planet as the sun moved over their features. Their thrusters remained cold as they awaited command from higher up, the gaping holes on the cruiser's ventral tower ready to spew fire when everything began. The blonde would have liked to visit one of them, walk through their interior, and study the armament placed all around the bulbous main body of the ship. However, Micah had been assigned to the deck of a much smaller, yet not to be underestimated Thranta-class corvette. A massive hammer-like structure dominated its front, filled with turrets facing the same direction. She knew how much this might be able to damage when hitting a part of unprotected steel on a Harrower. Several smaller starfighters flew between the other ships, practicing dogfights without using their laser cannons on each other in their last free hours of training.

"Welcome aboard the 'Angel's Wing'," the Jedi announced as their small barge docked onto the larger ship, a light rumble going through the structure as the chamber in between ships was depressured and filled with breathable air. Glimmer groaned as Bow shook her shoulder, her eyes still half-closed from the nap she had just awoken from.   
"Urgh, back on this floating piece of junk," she sighed before bending her back to relieve her bones from the rough surface underneath. The cracking of her bones was interrupted by the door of their barge sliding open, revealing the white-lined interior of the ship. It was wonderful in the blonde's eyes. This was supposed to be a warship, yet from the inside, it rather looked like something straight out of someone's dreams. Golden strands of metal were weaved into the white tiles lining the walls, forming intertwining glowing rivers of ore flowing down to the ship's bridge. It was very reminiscent of the temple's look down on Coruscant, yet there was a different kind of grace in the ornaments her eyes were looking at, almost like this was a royal negotiator's ship with additional armament. Raising a brow at her new friend's words she commented, "This doesn't look like junk to me...it's beautiful."  
She smiled, "You can see it that way or another. I don't like space travel as much as I should, I prefer having solid ground beneath my feet."

When they reached the bridge, a man greeted them with a low bow and a smile as they stepped in. The Jedi stepped forward, immediately beginning to talk about the recent happenings and plans they had prepared for their attack. Outside, Adora could see the vast miles of endless space, stars glistening far off in the distance as they waited for the crew to finish speaking to Micah. It did not take them very long, the plan was a very clear one. Take the sector you have been assigned to, push back any enemy force opposing you, and establish a temporary forward base to allow more troops to arrive and begin an offensive on the Empire's home. A simple and risky plan, however, they were sure they would not face too much enemy fire. Ca'dar's words seemed to have convinced the man of just that, which is why he picked this frontline. Adora knew he had instinctively thought of his daughter's well-being as well as Bow's and hers. Still, the reason for his time off the council's radar was a point of interest she would have to explore, right now there was enough time to ask before they were sent away to clash. A smile split her lips as she saw how Glimmer leaned on her friend's shoulder, still somewhat sleepy from earlier. Bow did not seem to mind, he gladly gave her the contact and support she needed. How much would she give to have this kind of friendship back? 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Alright," the voice ripped Adora out of her thoughts circling messy hair tufts leaning onto her chest as Micah turned around, "We should be done here. Glimmer, would you mind to show Adora around a bit and answer her questions while I meditate?"  
The girl wanted to voice a complaint, barely bringing out the words, "Can I not take a simple nap without-" before he nodded and laughed, "Very good, have fun. You know where to find me in case you need anything." His giggling continued as he threw her his communicator and walked down the hall, venturing deeper into the bowels of the ship to reach his quarters or wherever he wanted to connect to the force without interruption. The blonde was glad to spend some time with her two companions, however, she would have liked to ask the burning questions on her mind to the person knowing all the answers. Turning to the two, she saw how the boy showed her a thumbs up while Glimmer rubbed her eyes and yawned, showing her flawless teeth to the entire crew without caring a single bit.  
"You know, I can go around by myself, it wouldn't be as much of a problem," she said, grinning as she watched her friend trying to stay conscious despite her automatically closing eyes.  
"No, no, it's fine. Just this damn jetlag bothering me. This is the perfect opportunity to get my brain to work again."  
"The real question is if it ever worked," Bow whispered loud enough for Adora to hear, much to his friend's discomfort who bolted around to give him a light slap on the shoulder. He dodged it easily, using her still groggy and clouded mind to his advantage as she hissed, "Oh shut up," in amusement.

After a few seconds of teasing each other, Glimmer lead the way. They came by several little spaces and ladders leading to the accessible turrets on the outer hull. Overall, this ship was extremely well-armed. Not only did it possess a great and fast hyperdrive and a well-thought layout in terms of positioning of guns as well as shield generators, no, it also housed starfighters stored in the lower decks. However, the most impressive and first thing they came by was the quarters. This part of the ship seemed the most luxurious, the ceiling was dotted with lamps that emitted rather warm light, greatly differing from the cold and sterile feeling lamps in the rest of the halls. From time to time, they came by little tables and chairs stuffed into cozy positions, only waiting to be used.   
"Why is everything so pretty in here," Adora asked, surprised by the countless things she would have never seen on an Imperial warship, "Isn't this supposed to be a war machine?"  
It was Bow who answered before his friend could, earning himself a light pout as he blurted out, "That's because our Glimmer here is a royalty. Well, her mother is to be exact. Their family was one of the first to settle on Alderaan after the fall of the Infinite Empire."

Adora froze. Why did she not notice it earlier? The accessories the girl had been wearing, especially the small silver and golden symbol hanging down her ear. Unmistakeably, it resembled the one she had seen in Imperial logs concerning the world of Alderaan and the royal families like the current ruling one, the house of Panteer. Glimmer's symbol, however, resembled a golden, triangular structure intertwined into itself.   
"You are a member of the House of Organa?" she asked, her mouth staying open after she spoke, unable to hide her surprise. The girl raised her hand to rub the bridge of her nose, "Bow, how many times have I told you to not mention my family."  
The boy grinned maliciously, proud of his teasing and mockery he was playing on his friend. It looked like this was a topic the two had talked about a lot, with differing views on it. Looking Adora in the eyes, Glimmer replied, "Unfortunately, yes. Most of them are stuck-ups who can't even handle a simple blaster, trust me on that. My mom is a senator related to the Organas, even though they don't consider us family in the traditional sense. I'm not going to lie, we are somewhat glad they aren't. We do get some presents from time to time however, this ship was one of them. My mother got it when she secured a crucial trade deal with the Republic concerning wine and other luxuries."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The blonde stared at her, still shaken and surprised. Slowly, she started connecting the dots. She turned around, looked to all sides to see if anyone was eavesdropping on them before whispering, "Is this the reason why you and your dad were disconnected from the order? His relationship and connection to the House of Organa?"  
Her friend looked to the ground, almost like she was feeling guilty about something concerning the former Sith apprentice. 

A low shudder went through the ship as they moved into position. The time for the attack had come in a moment Adora was distracted, she did not even feel when the ship bolted forward into hyperspace, leaving Coruscant behind. Yet, Glimmer remained. It took her a while until she raised her eyes again, "It has...different reasons, reasons that my father should tell you about."  
Why were these people so secretive about this small detail? There was so much mystery shrouding the true reason why these two light sides had been banished from the order. A silent voice in her head whispered, "Maybe they are not as innocent as they might appear." Their silence told the blonde that whatever they were keeping from her had to do something with her history. She wanted to know what it was but at the same time, she did not want to hurt any of them while poking around in their already fractured world of emotions.  
Gritting her teeth she responded, "Alright then, I can stand a few hours more without knowing it. I have to train my patience anyway."

Glimmer's eyes told her she had noticed her friend's slight anger, "I'm sorry, okay? I mean it but that's something between you and dad, you two have more in common than you might think. For now, let's move on, shall we?"  
With even more thoughts and theories now bombarding her mind, Adora nodded. Did the girl mean that Micah was connected to her, maybe related or anything similar? No, she would have known and she did not show any real resemblance to either the Jedi master, not his apprentice. It was different, farther away yet so close she could almost grip it with her fist. Yet, she decided to play along. They walked down the corridors, however, the blonde barely listened to the low ramble her companions were giving her about the ship's capabilities. She did not even take notice of the room Bow had chosen for her to sleep in, its location being well inside the ship's protective hull yet close enough to the escape pods should they ever have to flee in the dead of night. She liked these two, their friendliness and joy quickly jumping over to herself, driving out the demons circling her mind. Still, she could not shake off the damp feeling of unease concerning their secret as well as something else, a feeling she had felt not long ago. It was like a low background rumble, the feeling of being watched and taunted by an unknown presence, hidden to strike whenever she least expected it. The sense disappeared when they reached the docking bay in the lower section of the corvette.

"And here we have our little fleet of fighters. I think you'll be familiar with some through...well, imperial training I guess, it's not like we don't know anything about Sith fighters from archives and captured craft either," Bow announced, showing off his holoprojector showing miniatures of the actual fighters stored in the bowels of the ship. Many of them were folded up, their wings hidden so more of them could be stored within the bigger carrier. Adora immediately recognized the indelible shapes of the Liberators, their long snout flanked by two somewhat aerodynamic wings and equipped with efficient engines. She remembered them from her first dog fight over Korriban, it had been the same design. A flare of guilt erupted in her stomach as she remembered how she had not even flinched to shoot them down. She had killed, taken lives for a nation that considered her a tool at their disposal.  
"In case you want to know what fighter the crew assigned to you, it's this one over here," the boy interrupted her guilt, pointing at a smaller, yet faster-looking fighter folded up into an almost teardrop-shaped package.  
"An Aurek fighter? Why do you think this is ideal for me?" she asked, looking at both Glimmer and Bow respectively. It was him again, holding up his hologram to show her a series of graphs and diagrams she knew little about until she saw the image of her old starfighter in the corner of the projection. He pointed at it, "The style you most likely flew your fighter with matches almost perfectly with the one you would need with an Aurek. Fast, aggressive, hit-an-run, am I right?"  
"That about sums it up, yes," she answered, surprised by the correct assumption of her companion. 

Examining the sleek exterior of the craft, she felt a bond already building up between her and the ship. She had loved her old upgraded fighter, yet this one seemed way sturdier and faster than what she had constructed with Catra. It even had a slightly inefficient yet sufficient hyperdrive module as she noticed when she peeked through the reinforced glass covering the cockpit.  
"Do you think we'll have to fight when we get to Ruuria?"   
Her eyes rested on the two trigger buttons on the steering wheel, two red points just waiting to be pressed by someone fierce enough to do so. Glimmer laughed nervously, "I hope not, I'm bad at flying, as embarrassing as it sounds..."   
"She's good but she just doubts herself too much, you know?" Bow commented, bumping his elbow into his friend's arm to raise her mood. Adora laughed at the comment, "You wouldn't believe me how many times I've seen that. So this one trooper, Kyle, he's an A-grade pilot. As clumsy as he is on the ground when he gets into the air he is like a freed dragon-"

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At this point, Adora would have liked to never use any form of long-range communication ever again. These things tended to ring at the moment you did not want them to, in the small but important cases where she started bonding with her new friends over details they could all relate to and when their differences did not matter at all. However, their moment was ruined by just that, the low beeping of the communicator Micah had tossed to his daughter.  
"Urgh, what is it now?" she groaned, snatching the device off her belt and answering the call without checking whom it was from. The panicked face of a middle-aged Ruurian trader appeared in the air in front of them, his breath quick and raspy as he whispered, "Glimmer, where is your father, I need to speak him immediately!"  
The girl raised her brow, "He's not here right now, can I take a message for him?"

A crash in the background of the recording sent shivers down the blonde's spine. It sounded like a door was being bashed down with heavy gear as they were speaking. Ca'dar flinched and shook his head.  
"It does not matter, listen. They threatened to kill my family if I told the truth, you have to understand-"  
Adora's heart stopped as his voice was cut off by the sharp hissing of a lightsaber unleashing and bundling its power through a kyber crystal. The crimson red shine of the blade hovered right underneath where she assumed his neck to be. She was speechless as she listened to the voice talking to the trader in a low, mocking way.   
"You are a smart little bugger, aren't you Ca'dar?" she flicked her tongue as a mother would attending to her naughty children, "Managed to get your warning out. Too bad it's too late already. Troopers, take him away." 

Adora grabbed the projector, holding it close to her face as she yelled her old friend's name, full of despair and shock, "Catra! What are you doing?!"   
The feline stepped into focus, quickly sheathing her saber as she grinned maliciously, "Oh, hey, Adora. What does it look like? Finishing what you started. Did you really think I would give up so easily?"  
The blonde did not know what to answer. Instead of doing so, she cut the connection and ran to the nearest intercom station built into the hangar bay, Glimmer and Bow close behind her. When she reached it, she furiously scanned the console for a button allowing her to announce something. The Jedi apprentice, guessing her intent, pointed at a small blue button next to a little speaker on the left side of the console, "There!"  
With her short breath and beating heart, Adora pressed the button. Underneath her, she could already feel the ship slowing down before the crack of the intercom system coming to life sounded. The only words forming in her mind as she heard the boom of the ship emerging from hyperspace were short yet more than clear enough for everyone present.  
  
"It's a trap!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for a long time in between updates, as I already said in the one-shot collection, school's been eating away at my concentration lately :[


End file.
